The Dreaded Dance Floor
by Kyuuketsuki-san
Summary: What would happen if all the Inuyasha characters entered a dance competition? I would say...MAYHEM! and funniness involved!
1. The List

**The Dreaded Dance Floor**

Hello everyone! I'M BACK! The mighty kyuuketsuki san has indeed returned! (author pauses, out of breath. Breathes deeply) ahem. Well, this fanfic is totally different from my last one, I hope you guys will like it, It will be funny…I hope. Here it is!

Disclaimer:………hm?...oh yeah I forgot…..erm…no, no I don't own Inuyasha. (did you have to remind me? Jeez!)

**Chapter one: The List**

Kagome went through the well, she was excited as she reread the now crumpled piece of paper that she held in her hand. _I can't wait to show this to everyone! _She thought excitedly.

As she jumped out of the well she immediately spotted InuYasha leaning against a tree, with a look of irritation on his face. He was also twitching impatiently. _Great, he's cranky._ She sighed to herself. Nonetheless she maintained the happy, hiper mood.

"What took you so long!" Shouted Inuyasha, "And why do you look so happy?" he added apprehensively. Usually when Kagome was this ecstatic, something was deadly wrong, well, for him anyway.

"Well…" Kagome started, hardly able to contain her excitement. "I SIGNED US ALL UP FOR DANCE CLASSES!" She ended up bursting out.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" was Inuyasha's not so surprising reaction.

"Aw, come on!" Kagome said, disappointed at his outburst. "It'll be so fun! International dance culture week is coming up and there will be this dance competition, and I figured it would do us some good to get some exercise and a social life!"

"NO WAY!" spat Inuyasha. "I'm NOT gonna make a fool of myself, dancin' is for sissies!" He crossed his arms and pouted.

Kagome felt the anger surge through her, but she still managed to notice how cute Inuyasha looked when he pouted.

"Anyways, the others will never agree to it!" Inuyasha added confidently.

X X X XX

"Wow, Kagome-chan, what a great idea, I'd love to try!" exclaimed Sango.

"I agree, Kagome-sama, it will be a great opportunity to grope-I mean get to know new people." Stated Miroku.

Shippou was squealing and jumping up and down happily. "YayYayYayYay!"

Kagome beamed at their reactions. Inuyasha was positively twitching on the ground with shock.

"See, Inuyasha, I TOLD you it would be good!" said Kagome smugly.

Inuyasha merely spluttered, words didn't come out from the shock he had just received. _Dance classes? Me?_

"I signed everyone up, see?" Kagome waved a crumpled piece of paper around that contained a list of all their names that had been accepted into the dance academy.

"Give me that!" Inuyasha snarled, snatching the list from her.

His eyes skimmed the piece of paper quickly. He very slowly lowered the list from his face. He was pale and sweaty.

"What's wrong Inuyasha?" Miroku inquired.

"Kagome wasn't kidding when she said she signed everyone up…" Inuyasha said shakily.

"What do you mean?" asked Sango. Inuyasha gulped.

"Sesshoumaru's on this list…" Inuyasha followed the names with his claw, "…and Naraku…and Kikyo…and KOGA…" he continued, "Every bloody one is on this damn list!" he shouted.

" Let me see." Miroku said, taking the list. "Sesshoumaru, Naraku, Kikyo, Koga, Ayame, Kohaku, Hakudoushi, Kagura, Kanna,…Kagome…why did you list _everyone's _names?" Miroku exclaimed.

"well…I think I may have been smoking something or eaten something with lots of sugar that day." Kagome replied nervously.

"YOU STUPID WENCH! How in the hell are we gonna get them to take damn dance classes?" Screeched Inuyasha.

Kagome clenched her fists tightly and cried, "OSUWARI!"

KERPLOPPO!

"Teme…" growled Inuyasha, as he tried to get up from the ground.

"Don't be so RUDE! I just thought it would be fun, you know, a break from looking for jewel shards and fighting demons!" shouted Kagome.

The two continued arguing, until Sango broke them up and tried to calm them down.

Kagome and Inuyasha were out of breath and just kept staring at each other, eyes narrowed.

"Look," began Sango "there's no need to fight over this." She turned to face Inuyasha, "Inuyasha, shutup and listen to Kagome for once, she only wants for all of us to enjoy ourselves. Besides, she's right about us needing a break." Sango told him. Kagome smiled smugly. Sango then turned to face Kagome,

"Kagome, listen to Inuyasha as well, how _are_ we going to get every one to come with us and even more so, to take dance classes?" Sango asked.

This time it was Inuyasha who seemed smug. "Yeah, wench how are you gonna do that?"

But to every one's surprise, Kagome grinned evilly,

"I've got it all worked out…"

A/N: do you like it so far? pleaz tell me what you think, read and review! 'preciate it!


	2. The Potato Sack

Yo, yo, yo, mah friends, how youz doin'? Sorry. Needed to get it out of my system. Cough. Anyways, many, many thanks Coolmarauders, inuyasha1000000000, KagomesandemonInuYasha, arlbeth, Samurai Fish and Kiwi-San for your reviews! Love to know you're reading my humble story. I don't know whether it'll be good, I haven't got it written down, it's all in my head!

Disclaimer: (author laughs sarcastically) oh you were being serious? No of course I don't own 'em!

**Chapter 2: The Potato Sack**

All the group were being very wary of Kagome, she was acting very strangely.

"What did she mean, she had it all worked out?" whispered Sango to Miroku, as Kagome sat looking thoughtfully at the campfire. Night had fallen and Kagome had said that they had to 'get it over with quickly' so that they may be able to make it to the contest. Of course the group had no idea what the hell she was talking about.

"I don't know, let's just hope it's nothing rash." whispered Miroku to Sango.

Inuyasha was up in a tree sulking, he _really_ didn't want to dance.

Suddenly Kagome jumped up. She turned to face them and said, "O.k.! The first one on the list is Sesshoumaru, right? That means we have to bring him here so that we may some how force him down the well!" Kagome bent down and rummaged through the things in her yellow rucksack mumbling what sounded like 'chloroform' and 'sack' and 'drag'.

Everyone gawped at her as though she were crazy, Inuyasha nearly fell out of his tree after he had heard the plan to make his full demon brother go through the well.

Kagome then straightened up and said cheerfully, "Right! Inuyasha! Use your nose and sniff out Sesshoumaru, Miroku, Sango, Shippou, I need you too, come with me!" she gestured with one arm, as she held a sack, some rope, and a small vial of smelly substance. This time Inuyasha did fall out the tree and he fiercely protested, but after seeing the murderous glare on Kagome's face he decided to drop it for fear of being another of her victims.

Inuyasha led the way, through the forest, Kagome close behind and the others trooping after them. Miroku and Sango gave each other nervous glances and Shippou was afraid of…well, he was just afraid.

They carried on walking deeper into the dark forest, until Kagome suddenly heard a loud sound, as if someone had stepped heavily onto a large twig. She looked behind her and asked Sango and Miroku,

"Did you hear that!"

"Hear what?" Said Miroku, rubbing his cheek where a large red handprint was marked.

Sango said nothing but was fuming, Kagome realized that it wasn't a twig that had snapped, but Sango's temper, the naughty monk had done something he shouldn't have.

"HEY! Are you guys comin' or not?" yelled Inuyasha way up ahead.

"Oh! Sorry!" cried Kagome, and ran up to him, still clutching the sack, rope and vial.

X X X X

Rin was chasing after Jaken happily, even though it was time for her to go to sleep.

Sesshoumaru stood staring at the full moon that shone through the treetops. He was thinking. _I can't explain it, but I sense that something will happen tonight. I shall be alert, for I am not one to mess with._

Soon after, Rin settled down to sleep and Jaken was snoring away, Sesshoumaru stayed awake. He was sitting on the grass and leaning against a tree, listening out for any unusual sounds, his eyes focused, and sense of smell sharp.

Suddenly, out from behind the tree he was leaning on, a hand shot out and covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief of a foul smelling substance. He was about to raise his hand to slash through the intruder but found he couldn't move. He felt sleepy, very sleepy, soon his eyes closed and he became completely unconscious.

Kagome felt Sesshoumaru become limp, and removed her hankie from his face.

"Pssssssst! Inuyasha! Everyone! You can come out now, he's out!" Kagome whispered.

Everyone crept out from behind the bushes and stared on in wonder at the unconscious demon lord.

"Kagome, what is that liquid and can I have some? I could really use that on him when he gets annoying." Said Inuyasha.

"It's called chloroform and it's available in my era. O.k. Inuyasha pass me that potato sack and hand me that rope." Kagome told him.

"O.k but I don't really see how-" Inuyasha started, confused, handing her what she asked for.

Kagome slipped the potato sack over Sesshoumaru's graceful, sleeping, head and pulled it over him until it went down to his knees. She then tied it around him securely with the rope, using a little help from a shocked Miroku and Sango. Shippou was with Rin and Jaken singing lullabies so that they wouldn't wake up. They didn't even stir.

"Okey dokey! That's him done!" Kagome exclaimed, taking out her crumpled list and ticking Sesshoumaru's name. "Inuyasha! Can you help me drag him to the well?" she asked.

Inuyasha was just staring with his mouth open at the potato sack which now held his brother.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome said sternly.

"Wha…?" he said as he looked up at her, waking up from his stupor. "Oh! WHY ME? Why can't Miroku drag him there?" He shouted waving a hand at the wide eyed monk.

"He's you're brother! YOU do it! Don't make me say the word!" Kagome added menacingly.

Inuyasha raised his hands in an 'I give up' gesture. "FINE!" he yelled.

And with that Inuyasha huffed and puffed as he dragged his unconscious brother by the ankles all the way to camp. However he took the advantage of walking along the rockiest part of the forest letting Sesshoumaru's head bump on each of the rocks, accidentally-on-purpose. _WOOPS, did that hurt dear brother, _Inuyasha smirked to himself.

Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Shippou followed him, leaving a sleeping Rin and Jaken behind.

"Inuyasha, we have to hurry! The chloroform will wear off soon!" Kagome cried.

"Quit worrying! We're nearly there!" Inuyasha shouted from up front, heaving the heavy potato sack.

Surely enough the campfire was coming into view through the trees. When the group arrived, the breathed out a sigh of relief, they were still alive.

Inuyasha plonked Sesshoumaru down near the well, smirking. He would treasure this moment forever, the sight of a large potato sack and Sesshoumaru's feet sticking out the end. He chuckled silently to himself.

"Well, Kagome-sama, whose next on the list" Miroku asked wearily.

Kagome grinned again,

"…Naraku…"

Everyone sighed heavily, apart from Inuyasha, who had a tick in his eye.

It was going to be a VERY long night.

A/N: Is it alright? Sorry I was so cruel to Sesshoumaru, it'll get better further on. Please let me know if you liked it or not! Read and Review! I thank you (author kneels and bows).


	3. The Shard, the String and the Mallet

...(footsteps and panting is heard at a distance)….gaspgaspgasp! (author arrives out of breath)…Sorry I´m late! I had to finish off some KILLER book review for philosophy. Shudder.

Thanks a bunch Coolmarauders and Kei-Ookami.kara.mori for your reviews! Sorry for making the great Sesshoumaru suffer but it'll be alright further on.

Disclaimer: do I have to? O.k, I don´t own Inuyasha…unfortunately.

**Chapter 3: The Shard, the String and the Mallet**

They were all very tired, of course, knocking out and dragging along a full demon lord used up a lot of their energy. Unfortunately Kagome's energy wasn't out yet which meant a long night ahead for every one.

"Naraku? How the crappish hell are we gonna lure Naraku to this crappish well to take your crappish dance classes?" yelled Inuyasha loudly.

"Didn't I say I had this all worked out? I already know what we're going to do!" shouted Kagome back.

Miroku and Sango shook their heads, at both the arguing pair and at the gloomy prospect of a sleepless night gathering everyone from the feudal era and getting them to participate in a dance contest. Shippou had his fingers in his ears, trying to block out the yelling.

"OSUWARI!"

KERPLONK!

Miroku and Sango stood up, and got themselves ready to leave, seeing as the …conversation… between Inuyasha and Kagome was now over.

Kagome straightened her hair and breathed deeply, while Inuyasha growled into the dirt.

"O.k. I think we should split up into groups," began Kagome, "Miroku, Sango, Shippou, you take care of Kanna, Kohaku, Ayame and Hakudoushi, Inuyasha and I will deal with the rest, O.K?"

Miroku nodded, "understood, Kagome-sama." He and Shippou made their way through the forest, Sango mounted Kirara and took off over the dark treetops.

"Well Inuyasha, it looks like Naraku is first on the list." Said Kagome.

"Yeah, so? What you gonna do then?" grumbled Inuyasha, still moody about making out with the ground again.

Kagome took out a shard of the Shikon no Tama from her little jar and pulled a piece of string from her backpack. "Well…"

X X X X

Naraku sat alone in a dark room of his gloomy palace, brooding. He still needed a few more shards to complete the Shikon no Tama, and they were in possession of Inuyasha's wench. He had to find a way to snatch them.

One of his poisonous insects whizzed in and buzzed close to his ear.

Naraku chuckled evilly.

"So… there is a shard closing in… I shall take it and add it to the almost completed jewel." He said. He got up and pulled the baboon pelt over him. He made his way out of the palace and as he was doing so he told the poisonous insect to inform him if Kanna, Hakudoushi, Kohaku or especially Kagura were to leave the palace for whatever reason. The problem was that Kagura had already left.

Naraku stealthily made his way along the grass, tracking the single fragment of the Shikon no tama.

He chuckled silently, he was almost there.

X X XX X

Sango circled above the dark palace on Kirara, and signalled to Miroku, who was hiding in the bushes below. The coast was clear. Miroku, and a frightened Shippou stepped out from behind the bushes, it was time now. Naraku was gone.

Sango and Kirara landed, Kirara turned small and followed Sango as she and Miroku silently entered the palace. As soon as they were inside they split up, Sango and Kirara went down one dark corridor, Miroku and Shippou went down another.

Sango stopped in front of a room and quietly crept in. She spotted a small, skinny boy, Kohaku.

Miroku stepped into what seemed to be a hall surrounded by opaque screens and noticed that ther were two small figures sitting in the middle of the floor. Two pale figures, _these two must be Kanna and Hakudoushi, _Miroku thought and pulled something out of his robe as he walked quietly up to them, as Shippou sat stiff with fear on his shoulder.

XX X X

Kagome hid behind bush as Inuyasha readied the sting that was tied to the shard.

"I can smell Naraku, he's almost there." Inuyasha told Kagome.

"That's good. When he comes within three feet of the shard, you pull on the string. I almost sure he'll follow it, he's desperate enough! And when he's close enough to us then I'll get him, OK?" whispered Kagome quickly.

"OK, OK I got it!" whispered Inuyasha gruffly.

Naraku found the shard in the grass_. How careless, a shard of the Shikon no Tama, lying on the ground, who would have dropped it ?_

He stooped down to pick it up but it moved by itself, a few feet away from him. _How strange, it must have a spell cast on it, but I Naraku shall possess that shard and become ever greater! No spell shall hold me back! _He thought determinedly. He glided towards the shard and bent down to grab it but it once again moved away, towards some large bushes. He smirked and again neared himself to the shard.

"Just a little closer!" whispered Kagome and Inuyasha tugged at the string, drawing the jewel fragment closer to them. Naraku followed it and once again tried to pick it up. He was close enough.

Kagome jumped up from the bush, in her hands was a very large mallet and she brought it down hard upon Naraku's head. BONK!

Kagome squealed, "Yes!" and she picked up the jewel fragment and stowed it in the jar. Inuyasha got out from behind the bush and nudged the unconscious Naraku with his foot.

"Yep, he's out." Confirmed Inuyasha.

Kagome didn't answer, she was pulling something out from behind a tree. It looked like a big cage on wheels. Inuyasha's mouth dropped open.

"Where the hell did you get-" he began

"Oh be quiet, and help me get Naraku in here" she puffed.

The both of them managed to heave him inside the cage and Kagome padlocked the door when they were done.

"I think we should just leave him here until we have the others, then we can wheel him to the campsite!" Said Kagome. Inuyasha said nothing, he simply poked Naraku's face through the cage bars.

"Inuyasha are you listening?"

Pokepoke. Inuyasha chuckled to himself. Poke.

Kagome decided to let him have his _fun_ and crossed Naraku's name off the list.

After a few moments, Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's arm and pulled him into the forest.

"Hey, I wasn't done poking yet!" he protested.

"Never mind that, we need to get Kagura now." Kagome told him. "And I've got just the thing…"

A/N: are you liking it so far? Please tell me what you think, is it funny or not? Read and review!


	4. Fly Swatting

MUSIC BLAST! BUMPBUMPBUMPBUMP!(author pushes through a huge crowd of people dancing, while loud music plays) 'SCUSE ME! CUMIN THROUGH! (author shouts above the noise) HELLO PEOPLE! GUESS WHAT! MY PARENTS AREN'T IN, THEiR COMING BACK IN TWO DAYS! SO IT'S PARTY TIME! WOOOOOOO! (music gets cut off and everyone leaves, author stands alone) problem is I have to look after my little sister. Fgjimnhafgiaikudjana!

Disclaimer: must I waste precious typing time? You all know that I of course own…I mean DON'T own Inuyasha.

**Chapter 4: Fly Swatting**

Kagome walked behind Inuyasha, who was swiftly following Kagura's scent. Since her scent was in the night breeze it was no guess that she would have been aloft on her giant feather, away from her…_family_.

"The scent is getting stronger now," said Inuyasha.

"Perfect. Is it ready?" asked Kagome.

"Oh yeah, it's ready." Replied Inuyasha mysteriously.

X X X X

Kagura could feel the cool night breeze, playing with her hair as she flew on her feather. How she longed to be free of that oppressive monster. Still, she thought it strange Naraku hadn't found her or sent an insect to make her return to the palace. She shrugged her shoulders, and decided to enjoy these few moments of 'freedom'.

As she passed over the tops of the forest trees, she suddenly heard a high voice screech,

"NOW!"

Kagura looked before her; she didn't even have time to swerve as a big, giant, flyswatter knocked her out of the air. She fell to the ground with a thud, still conscious. She saw Kagome and Inuyasha, both holding the huge thing and with triumphant grins on their faces. Kagura seethed with rage.

"What the HELL do you think you're doing!" she screamed.

Inuyasha's grin disappeared, "Oh, you're still awake? I can fix that," and with that, he told Kagome to let go of the flyswatter and began violently squishing Kagura with it.

"Take that! SPLAT and that! SPLAT and this and that and that and this aaaaaand that! SPLAT SQUISH SPLAT SQUISH KERMEGASPLAT."

Kagome ran over to the maniac whose name was also Inuyasha and put her hand on his arm. "errrm…I think that's enough Inuyasha." She said nodding at the battered and unconscious Kagura on the ground.

"Oh, okay" mumbled. InuYasha

They dragged Kagura's limp body over to where Naraku's cage was and Kagome crossed her name off the list.

"Right! Now let's see…ah yes," She said as she tapped her finger on the next name.

"What, who the hell is next so we can get this over with." said Inuyasha moodily.

"You're bestest friend…Koga." She replied grinning at him.

Inuyasha stared at her angrily. "Ok, so how do we kill him, uh, I mean, smash him, I mean, torture him, I mean destroy him slowly so that he can die an excruciatingly painful death, I mean-" he blabbed quickly.

Kagome tapped her foot on the ground and put her hands on her hips, eyes narrowed.

"Actually, I was thinking of being the bait." She said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Inuyasha shook with rage, but controlled himself, "fine, see if I care." He pouted.

Kagome turned and began stomping off in the direction of the mountains. _Ugh, sometimes Inuyasha can be sooooo annoying! Well not sometimes, ALL THE TIME!_

A/N: sorry for the short chappie, I kind of find it hard to concentrate at 1am on a school night when I have to get up for school at 5am. Please read and review, preeetty pleeease? ´.


	5. Wolf Bait

Good evening… I'm sorry for the wait, I have to go on Saturdays to some community service from 12 till 6pm, and plus there's school 5 days a week from 7am till 3pm, which makes me tired out. But I love to update for all you lovely people! And I really appreciate these lovely people , for their reviews, thanks

Kei-Ookami.kara.mori, Kiwi-San, coolmarauders and ranchan23. And yes, I think pepsi holiday spice will work juuuuust fine (author looks shifty and grins.)

Disclaimer: WHY DO YOU HAVE TO REMIND ME! SOBSOBSOB! I don't own Inuyasha (sob).

**Chapter 5: Wolf Bait**

Inuyasha grumbled and moaned as he went with Kagome to look for Kouga. They arrived at the foot of a mountain, it was huge and it looked like a dark monster against the night sky. Kouga was nowhere to be found.

"Oh well, I guess we can't find him. Lets go." Inuyasha said as he turned to walk away.

"Oh no you don't! come back here mister!" cried Kagome as she yanked him along, by the ear.

"Grrrrrrr!" he growled, as he was dragged closer to the huge mountain.

"I have an idea," said Kagome, not being able to see where Kouga was. She asked Inuyasha to hide at the foot of the mountain in a bush and should he come out she would sit him so hard his head would fall off. Inuyasha did as he was told because he wanted to live.

Kagome climbed to the top of the mountain and paused to catch her breath. She then took a deep breath and cupped her hands around her mouth,

"YOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO! KOOOUUUUUUGAAAAA! I DON'T LIKE INUYASHA ANYMORE, CAN I BE YOU'RE WOMAN PLEASE?" She screamed, her voice echoed loudly around the mountain. Inuyasha had his ears covered and was shaking with rage at what Kagome was saying.

Kagome lowered her hands and waited. Surely enough a whirlwind was heading her way. Soon her hands were being grabbed by the handsome wolf leader. He stared happily into her eyes, she stared back nervously.

"Er…hi Kouga!" she squeaked.

"I knew you come to your senses! That stupid mutt wasn't good enough for you anyway, you shall come with me, be my woman and bear my pups!" Kouga said keenly.

Inuyasha, with his sensitive hearing, was desperately trying to control his anger, he bit his knuckle to stop himself jumping on top of Kouga and shredding him to pieces.

Kagome, who was getting kind of sweaty from nerves, put on a fake smile.

"Um, yeah, ok Kouga, I'll be you're woman" She said as she crossed her fingers mentally, "But let's talk about this somewhere else…how about the bone eater's well?" she suggested.

"Interesting place to talk…but ok!" agreed Kouga. He put his arm around Kagome's waist and was gone in a whirl of wind. Inuyasha was almost having a heart attack, but proceeded to follow the whirlwind.

Kouga stopped before the well and gently put Kagome down. Kagome thanked him. _Ok I have to tell him._

"Um, Kouga?" she asked meekly.

"Yes Kagome?" he replied sweeping her hands up into his. At that precise moment, a rustling was heard and an angry looking Inuyasha appeared through the trees.

"Sorry! I had to lure you here somehow!" Kagome said apologetically. Kouga looked confused.

Inuyasha had a smug look on his face as he walked up to Kouga and punched him in the face. Hard.

"Wow Kagome that was a great plan." Said Inuyasha with a big grin on his face and with his hands on his hips.

"Uh…you didn't have to hit him." Kagome told him.

The grin didn't leave his face, "I know I didn't."

Kagome sighed heavily and shook her head at the unconscious Kouga on the grass.

"I'm sooooooo sorry Kouga." She apologised.

She took out the list and crossed off Kouga's name.

"I'm picking up Ayame's scent close by." Inuyasha said as he sniffed the night air.

"Well, that was Miroku and Sango's job, wasn't it?" Kagome said, and she thought about it. "Hold on, since she's nearby, and since we've got Kouga…"

X X X X X

Ayame had smelt Kouga, she followed the scent so that she could find him and somehow convince him to be her mate. She could sense his presence close by.

Suddenly she was at a funny looking well. She was confused, why would Kouga be here? But then, there lingered the scent of that human wench. Ayame clenched her fists. She heard a rustling, and she whirled around to see a dark figure in between the trees. Kouga!

She squealed, "Kouga! I knew I'd find you!" She made her way over to him.

Kagome jumped out from behind a bush and tackled Ayame to the ground. Soon Ayame was tied up and wriggling in the grass.

"Inuyasha you can come out now!" cried Kagome towards the dark figure. Inuyasha stepped out from between the trees and let go of Kouga, who was still unconscious. Kouga had served as a kind puppet and Inuyasha had hidden behind him as Ayame had arrived. Inuyasha sniffed his kimono and grimaced.

"Yuck! I stink of mangy wolf!" He complained loudly.

"Oh quit complaining!" Said Kagome. She crossed Ayame's name off the list.

"I wonder how Sango and Miroku are doing?" she pondered.

"We're doing just fine!" cried a voice from behind them.

Sango was on top of Kirara and Kohaku was in front of her. Miroku dragged a big net along and it held a squirming Hakudoushi and Kanna. Shippou was on top of Miroku's shoulder grinning at the way the two fidgeted.

"We couldn't find Ayame anywhe-" began Miroku, he looked down and spotted an angry looking Ayame, gagged and bound in the grass. "Ah." He said simply.

"Where's Naraku and Kagura?" Sango asked.

"Oh! I'd completely forgotten about them! We'd better hurry up or they'll start waking up soon!" exclaimed Kagome. "Inuyasha go get them!" she told him.

Inuyasha was still wiping, and picking wolf hairs off him, making faces. "Huh? Why do I have to go?" he yelled. Then he remembered his little Naraku-poking game. He grinned. "Oh…Ok!" he said. And he was off.

Kagome rubbed her hands together evilly, "Soon everything will be ready!" she chuckled.

Every one took a step away from her in fear.

A/N: I know all you Kouga lovers are gonna hate me for being mean to the poor guy! But as I said before it'll get better soon. Please read and review!


	6. Torture

Oh what a beautiful mooooorning, oh what a beautiful daaaaaaaay……….! Oh I'm sorry, must have drunk too much. OMG, I've never had so many reviews! THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH! Thanks, getfuzzyfan04, darkenedmoonlightflame, silverlove, Kiwi-San, Spiritual breeze, coolmarauders, ranchan23, Lady Kagewaki, Kei-Ookami.kara.mori. Oh yeah Lady Kagewaki, my sister thinks you have a great pen name (author glances at sister and whispers) she's in love with Kagewaki from the show. (author straightens) ahem. My computer kinda broke down so I had to get it fixed, no computer for 3 days! But I'm ok now. (takes deep breath, breathes out).

Disclaimer: I've told you time and time again, I don't bloody own 'em!

**Chapter 6: Torture**

Kagome got her bag ready near the well. The unconscious victims were slowly coming around. Inuyasha sat on a log near the well and twitched impatiently.

"Hurry up and take everyone down the well! Let's get this over with already!" He snapped.

"Inuyasha…shutup. I know what I'm doing." Replied Kagome, straightening up from her backpack.

Moans and groans were to be heard in the small campsite. Sango and Miroku looked at each other anxiously.

Inside a certain cage, a certain black-haired demon moved slowly and gently rubbed his head. "oooooh….What the hell happened? My head HURTS." Naraku mumbled groggily.

"Well duh. That's what you usually feel when you've been hit over the head with a mallet." Inuyasha smirked.

Naraku squinted and tried to figure out which of the four Inuyasha's was talking. He shook his aching head.

Kagura lay nearby and opened her eyes. _I'm in pain._ She thought. _Hopefully I'll heal soon, though I've never been squished so many times before._ She pondered. Hakudoushi and Kanna were still trying to struggle out of the net but to no avail.

Kohaku on the other hand was peacefully sleeping with Kirara. Sango stared at him lovingly and sighed. Miroku also sighed, but for another reason. SLAP!

"GET YOUR HAND AWAY FROM THERE! DON'T MAKE ME SHOVE IT UP A PLACE WERE THE LIGHT DOESN'T SHINE!" screamed Sango. Miroku nervously backed away, hand on cheek.

Kouga woke up also and tried to remember what he was doing lying on the grass. It came to him. _Kagome, why? _He thought and put his hands over his face. He heard a muffled sound behind him so he turned to look. Ayame was bound and gagged, and she wriggled on the ground like a worm. Kouga almost felt sorry for her. ALMOST.

Inuyasha twitched even more vigorously and was muttering curse words under his breath as he watched Kagome take _ages_ checking the stuff in her bag. Just then he heard a muffled groan. He turned around on the log and spotted a large, moving potato sack on the ground close to the well. Inuyasha smirked. _So, brother, you're awake for the torture. _

Suddenly Kagome squealed. "Aaaaaaaagh! I forgot someone!" she shouted.

Naraku groaned and held his head, "Shhhhhhh! Keep it down!" he whined.

Kagome ignored him. Inuyasha got up from his log and over to Kagome.

"Who did you forget?" he asked.

"Kikyo." Kagome answered quietly. Inuyasha stiffened. "But don't worry, I know how to get her." Kagome assured him.

X X X X

"KAGOME! I HATE YOU!" blasted Inuyasha. Kagome had tied him to the God tree and told him to shout out a special sentence that would make Kikyo come.

"Oh quit your complaining and just say it!" hissed Kagome from behind a bush opposite the tree.

Inuyasha groaned loudly, clearly not wanting to do it. "Fine! But this is the ONLY time I'm gonna do this!" he shouted.

"Ok, ok, whatever, just say it!" Kagome whispered, and hid behind the bush.

_Here goes nuthin'._ He thought.

"KIKYO! TAKE ME TO HELL WITH YOU!" He yelled as loud as he could.

A few moments passed and suddenly a soul snatcher glided into that part of the forest. Soon many soul snatchers had gathered and Kikyo appeared mysteriously in front of the God Tree.

"Oh, Inuyasha, I knew this day would come. Now we can embrace death together." She said eerily.

Kagome quietly came out from her hiding place and crept up behind Kikyo.

"Um, Kikyo?" Inuyasha said.

"Yes, Inuyasha?" Kikyo asked.

"…I lied." He answered.

"Wha-?" Kikyo began. Kagome stood behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. As she turned around, Kagome took her by the shoulders and whammed her head against Kikyo's. Kikyo's eyes crossed slightly as she fell to the ground, unconscious.

Kagome rubbed her head. _I can't say I didn't enjoy that!_ She grinned. She untied Inuyasha and asked him to take Kikyo to the well. He hesitated for a moment, but eventually agreed.

They finally arrived at the well and Kagome readied her backpack. She swung it on her shoulders and walked up to the well. She turned and faced everyone.

"Well, is everyone ready?" She asked.

Everyone groaned and moaned and whined simultaneously.

"Great! Let's go!" She said cheerfully and hopped into the well.

A/N: so? Whaddya make of it? I'm glad people are reading it, it makes me feel loved. (author wipes away a tear) sniff! Anyway, please read and review!


	7. Down the Well and Out Again

Hellooooo everyone! Thanks soooooooo much for your reviews ranchan23 and Kiwi-San. Lady Kagewaki, thanks for ALL your reviews, they make me laugh! And of course I know who lord Kagewaki is! (author looks around nervously and tugs at shirt neck, laughs uneasily) he he he. Nah really, I do know.

Disclaimer: I shalt not remind ye again! I do not own Inuyasha!

**Chapter 7: Down the Well and Out Again**

It turned out to be extremely difficult getting everyone down the well, since the only form of doing it was for each person (and demon), to possess a shard of the Shikon no Tama. And as predicted, Naraku was NOT happy about it.

"NOOOOOOOOO! My precious shards! My beloved jewel fragments! My babies! Give them BAHAHAHAHACK!" He screamed, hands waving through the bars of his cage.

Everyone, well, thosewho hadn't been tied up, put their fingers in their ears. Inuyasha was getting riled up; Kagome had already gone through the well and was probably waiting on the other side. And he was getting sick of Naraku's complaints.

"GrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRR!" Inuyasha growled, "QUIT YER DAMN WHININ'! WE'LL GIVE ALL THE SHARDS BACK IF YOU JUST SHUTUUUUP!" Inuyasha yelled, veins popping and arms waving.

Naraku blinked. He then narrowed his eyes, "You promise?" He asked slyly.

"Yeah, yeah whatever, just shut yer trap!" Inuyasha replied roughly, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. He though over what he had just said and his eyes shot open as it dawned on him.

"OH CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!"

The crickets were silenced. Miroku and Sango both slapped their foreheads and Shippou sighed.

X X X X

Kagome waited on the other side of the well, tapping her foot impatiently. _What's taking so long?_

She walked out of the shrine and breathed in the cool night air. She looked up at the dark sky and gazed at the stars, wondering if it was actually a good idea for everyone to take part in the dance competition. She shrugged her shoulders and went back inside the shrine to wait some more.

X X X X

"Everyone got their damn jewel shards?" Inuyasha asked gruffly. Everybody groaned their yes's. "Okay, let's get goin'!" Inuyasha snarled, temper flaring.

Inuyasha picked up the potato sack containing Sesshoumaru and tossed him down the well, he grabbed Kouga by the ankle and dragged him to the edge of the well and threw him in. With a little help from Miroku and Sango, he heaved Naraku's cage down, Inuyasha threw Kagura and Ayame in and Miroku tossed the net which held Hakudoushi and Kanna in. Finally, Inuyasha jumped in, Miroku, Sango, Kohaku, Kirara and Shippou followed suit. After a while, Inuyasha's head popped back up and he looked around the well.

"Sorry." He apologised as he grabbed a fuming, gagged and bound Kikyo, who had been left behind. He threw her down the well and hopped in after her.

X X X X

Kagome yawned; it was almost dawn and still no sign of anyone. Just then inside the well came a bright bluish light. Kagome ran towards the edge of it and peeked in, but it was still too dark to make anything out. She then heard voices.

"Where am I? OW! GEDDOFF!"

"Sorry! Hey I think I landed on something soft!"

"THAT'S ME!"

"Oh"

"OUCH! Who's that?"

"Me!"

"WHO'S ME!"

"I am!"

"WHY YOU-"

"Hey who's got their hand on my-"

"GET YOUR FOOT OUTTA MY FACE!"

"Stop groping me Miroku!"

SLAP!

"I'm over here Sango!" came Miroku's muffled voice, his hand the only thing visible waving from underneath Sesshoumaru's potato sack.

"Then who did I – Oh! sorry Inuyasha!"

"GRRRRRRRR!"

Kagome leaned over, "Hey are you guys okay?" she cried.

"DOES IT SOUND LIKE WE'RE OKAY!" yelled Inuyasha. "ARE YOU GONNA GIVE US A HAND OR NOT?"

"Okay, okay, jeez!" Kagome sighed, rolling her eyes

It took such along time heaving everyone out of the well, that by the time they had all gotten out, it was morning. Naraku was given back the jewel fragments by a reluctant Inuyasha. Miroku and Sango helped untie everyone and Inuyasha was voted the one to remove the sack from Sesshoumaru. After the sack was taken off, the demon lord stood to his full height and glared murderously at his brother. Inuyasha gulped.

Kagome reconsidered letting Naraku out of his cage, deciding it would be safer for him to stay locked up for a teeny while longer.

Everyone stepped out of the shrine and stared in wonder at the new era they had travelled to.

"Alright everybody, let's go inside and let me explain what we're going to do!" Kagome said cheerfully, motioning for them to follow her. Sesshoumaru walked slowly towards the house and occasionally stole glances at Inuyasha and chuckled in his mind.

Inuyasha grumbled to himself as he wheeled Naraku's squeaky cage towards Kagome's house as a hyper Shippou bounced repeatedly on his shoulder.

Kikyo floated along thinking bitterly about her betrayal and not noticing the telephone pole in front of her.

WHAM!

A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter cos I sure did! Oh yeah, my sister gave me a couple of ideas on the first few chapters. I'm writing this because she won't stop DAMN BUGGIN' ME! (author calms down) ahem, please read and review! Thanks!


	8. House Guests

Hey, how you doin'? Thanks Kiwi-San, coolmarauders, Kei-Ookami.kara.mori for your encouraging reviews, they keep me going (puts hand on heart). Oh yeah in this fanfic Sesshoumaru's gonna have both arms because it will be too hard for him to dance with one arm innit?

Disclaimer: vy von't you leaf mee alone! I haf told you zat I, ze grrrreat Kyuuketsuki (vampire) san…donotowninuyasha (says in feeble squeak).

**Chapter 8: House Guests**

Kagome fumbled in her pocket for her keys, while everyone gawped at their surroundings, taking in how different everything was in this century. Kouga sniffed the air and his nose wrinkled at the scent of cement, pollution and rubbish. Ayame put her hand on his arm.

"Kouga, I'm scared!" she said looking up at him with big eyes, "Won't you protect me?" she asked.

Kouga looked down at the hand on his arm, then into Ayame's eyes, he softened but said, "Sorry, the only woman I'm protecting is Kagome!" he said, and turned away from her. Ayame's eyes filled up with angry tears.

Kagura had fully healed from her mishap, and was gazing up at the sky, searching for a way to escape on her trusty feather, but a strange metallic bird zoomed noisily past and was hidden by the clouds. She thought better of it. She glanced at her siblings, Kanna and Hakudoushi, who were both pouting and had their arms crossed as they were dragged along by Miroku. Miroku had an almost dazed look on his face and his mouth slightly dropped open as he saw Kagome's house.

Sango walked with Kohaku and Kirara and upon arriving in front of Kagome's home both she and her brother let out a "woooooow!" as they took in how big it was.

Everyone was gathering around Kagome as she tried to remember which of the many keys on the key ring was the key to open her front door. They were all chattering excitedly and pointing in all directions, as the spotted new weird things never seen before in the feudal era. Sesshoumaru was just arriving at the front door, or rather, at the crowd blocking it, and stood there patiently and respectably, taking in the new sounds, sights and smells of this strange place.

Inuyasha huffed and puffed as he pushed Naraku's heavy cage towards the house, grumbling the entire way. Naraku enjoyed Inuyasha's pain and chuckled through the bars. Shippou had long since stopped bouncing on Inuyasha's shoulder and was staring wide-eyed at the metal carriages whizzing along a long strip of dark grey ground.

Kikyo lagged slowly behind, rubbing her bruised head and remembering grumpily the pole's betrayal, or Inuyasha's, or the pole's…whatever.

The lock clicked and Kagome turned the knob to open the door. She turned around to face everyone and told them to be extremely quiet so as not to wake anyone in the house, and in the neighbourhood. The chattering subsided as they entered Kagome's home. Kagome ushered them into the unlit sitting room, with one finger on her lips,

"shhhhhhh! That's it! Just stand there…No! No! No! don't touch that! Inuyasha! Don't push that cage so hard, it squeaks! Sesshoumaru, can you-" the demon lord scowled at her from where he stood, "On second thought where you're standing is fine. Shippou! Stop bouncing on the furniture! Miroku! Get that hand away from her! Kouga, try not to destroy anything! Where's Kikyo? Ah, Kikyo! No, just float somewhere ov- yeah! There! That's it! Please stop talking Ayame!" Kagome whispered urgently.

Kagome calmed herself down and made sure she had each person's attention by waving her arms about. When she was sure they were looking at her she explained quietly,

"Alright, now this is what we're going to do, I'm going to contact the dance academy to check us in and you will all be quiet and unmoving. I'm going to put all my stuff away and then we'll all sneak out the back door in silence, which means no noises at all! That way we can get away without my mum notici-"

Just then the sitting room light was turned on and there stood Mrs Higurashi looking questionably at her daughter, who was standing on the sofa in front of a gathering of…beings.

"Oh, hehehe, mum, erm, you're awake." Kagome said, laughing nervously.

"Kagome, would you mind telling me what is going on and who on earth this…er life forms are?" Mrs Higurashi enquired, her hands on her hips. She spotted Inuyasha in a corner, "Oh, hello Inuyasha dear."

Inuyasha nodded in acknowledgement.

Kagome stepped down from the sofa and fidgeted nervously.

"Well…er…these are, a few…_acquaintances_…from the feudal era. I thought, that maybe…it would be a good idea to… I dunno…invite them to spend a little time in a whole different age…?" Kagome said, her hands were clasped together and she looked at her mother expectantly.

Mrs Higurashi frowned at her daughter. Kagome held her breath. A smile appeared on her mother's face. Kagome breathed out, relieved.

"Well why didn't you _tell_ me we would be having guests! I would have gladly prepared something for them! Now, Kagome, why don't you introduce me to all of your little friends, hm?" She said with interest.

Sesshoumaru arched an eyebrow, Naraku's mouth dropped open, Kouga's eyes bugged. _Little friends?_ Inuyasha rubbed his face with one hand and groaned.

Kagome sighed apologetically as she led her mum over to introduce everyone to her. _I wonder if we'll ever make it to the competition?_

A/N: Hope you guys liked it! Vatch out forrrrr ze next chapter! It'll be funny! Please read and review, cos if you don't, I vill suck yourrrr bloooooooood! MOOHOOHAHAHOOHOOHAHAAAAAAAA! (sweeps up black cape and is engulfed by dark smoke. Author is still standing in same spot choking on the remains of the smoke and passes out.)


	9. Problems at Home

No bloodsucking today because these lovely people reviewed! I humbly thank you getfuzzyfan04, angelgirlmia, Kei-Ookami.kara.mori, Kiwi-San, coolmarauders, inuyasha-loves-kagome-for, your reviews make me laugh. Thanks for the motivation!

It looks like there won't be any bloodsucking for me then. Sigh. Here's a nice long chapter (well long for me anyway) for you lovely people to enjoy.

Disclaimer: C'MON! STOP BUGGIN' ME ALREADY! I do not own Inuyasha.

**Chapter 9: Problems at Home**

Kagome led her mother around the sitting room so that she could meet everyone.

"Errr, mum, this is Miroku, you know, the monk who travels with Inuyasha and me." Kagome said, unsure of what Miroku would pull off.

Miroku got down on one knee and took Mrs. Higurashi's hand.

"I humbly thank you for accepting us into your beautiful home. A beautiful home for a beautiful lady." He added, planting a kiss on her hand.

"Oooooh! My, Kagome you never told me you had such charming friends!" Her mother giggled and placed a hand on her cheek. Kagome narrowed her eyes at Miroku, who immediately got up and edged away.

Kagome then led her mother over to Sango and Kohaku. "Mum, this is Sango, one of my best friends in the feudal era, and this is her little brother, Kohaku."

"Sango, what a lovely name! And is this your brother? Oh my! He's so thin! I think I'll whip up something-" Mrs. Higurashi began to fuss over the boy.

Sango bowed her head in thanks and put an arm around Kohaku. Mrs Higurashi tried dusting the dirt off his clothes.

"Mum! You can do that later! You said you wanted to meet everyone first!" Kagome reminded her.

"Oh yes, carry on!" She said cheerfully.

"This is Shippou, the little fox demon" Kagome continued.

Shippou hopped up and down, taking in all the weird things he saw in the sitting room.

"Awwwww! Isn't he just adorable!" Kagome's mum clapped her hands together.

"Yeah, adorable" Kagome mumbled. _Not when he's full of sugar!._

Kagome took her mum over to where Sesshoumaru stood. He was looking at a dog shaped ornament and seemed interested in it.

Kagome moved slightly behind her mother for protection.

"m-mum, th-this is, um, Sesshoumaru…Inuyasha's older brother." Kagome said quietly and nervously.

Sesshoumaru didn't even budge.

"Oh! Older brother? Inuyasha! You never mentioned you had an older brother!" Mrs. Higurashi called out.

"Yes I did!" said a muffled voice from behind the sofa which was where Inuyasha seemed to be hiding.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Sesshoumaru!" Mrs. Higurashi exclaimed cheerfully extending her hand out to shake his.

Sesshoumaru merely glanced at her hand and then took a few strides away from them until he reached the other side of the sitting room where he became intrigued by a painting that hung on the wall.

Mrs. Higurashi lowered her hand, leaned over to Kagome and whispered,

"The strong and silent type I see!"

Kagome nodded nervously.

Kikyo was near the window and played with the light switch of a table lamp. An expensive table lamp.

"Flick. It lives. Flick. It dies. Flick. It lives. Flick. It dies.Flick. It livesitdiesitlivesit diesitlivesitdiesitlives…flickflickflickflickflickflickflickflick" she whispered as she frantically flicked the switch. POP! The lamp's bulb burned out.

"Eeeek!" Kikyo squeaked.

Kikyo floated away from the broken lamp, whistling, with her hands behind her back and the 'I didn't do it' look on her face.

_It is unable to live again! We have similar souls, which means I share that same fate, soon I shall go out like that light, never to come back!_

Kagome's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Mum, this is Kikyo. I'm her incarnation."

"My, my, my! You two look so much alike! Pleasure to meet you Kikyo!" Said Mrs. Higurashi with a smile. Kikyo just stared at her eerily, bobbing up and down in the air.

"Hehehe, let's go mum!" Kagome said firmly pushing her mum away from the creepy priestess.

"Meet Kouga and Ayame."

Kouga puffed out his chest proudly, Ayame stood timidly beside him.

"I am the great Kouga, Leader of the Wolf demon tribe, the most powerf-" Began Kouga smugly.

Mrs Higurashi smiled at him and patted him on the head. "I'm sure you are dear."

Kouga spluttered.

Inuyasha snickered, he had already come out from behind the sofa and was laughing at how Kagome's mum reacted.

Kouga snarled and tried to lash out at him, but Ayame took hold of his arm. Kouga looked at her in surprise.

"And you are Ayame? You and Kouga make such a nice couple!" Mrs. Higurashi told her happily.

Kouga spluttered even more. Ayame, on the other hand, blushed a deep red.

"Listen, lady, we are not a couple, my woman is Kago-" he started.

"Okay I think you've met Kouga, on to the next group of people!" Kagome shouted.

Kagome took her mother's arm and led her to where Kagura, Hakudoushi and Kanna where. Hakudoushi and Kanna had been freed from the net and were gawping at the hi fi system. Kagura stood with her arms crossed.

"Mum, Meet Kagura, the wind sorceress and her siblings, Kanna and Hakudoushi." Kagome said half-heartedly.

Kagura nodded at Mrs. Higurashi, Kanna and Hakudoushi just looked intently at her.

"Siblings? They look so different! You must be the eldest," Kagome's mother said to Kagura.

"No" said a small, breathy voice, "I am." Kanna took a step forward.

Mrs. Higurashi had a confused look on her face. "I don't understand."

"Mum, they're just Naraku's incarnations." Came Kagome.

"Naraku?" Mrs. Higurashi said, puzzled, "Who's Naraku?"

Kagome pointed at the cage, situated close to one of the cushiony armchairs of the sitting room.

"That cage is Naraku?" Asked Kagome's mum confusedly.

Kagome sighed and walked over to the cage, pulling her mum along, and pointed in through the bars. "That is Naraku!"

Mrs Higurashi peered in and saw a man sitting inside the cage, looking sulky. She let out a loud gasp

"Oh my goodness gracious!"

Kagome nodded.

"Kagome Higurashi! How could you think of doing such a thing?" Mrs. Higurashi yelled.

Kagome looked at her mum in shock. She was _defending Naraku_?

"Cages are for dangerous animals, not for people!" She continued.

"But mum! He _is _a dangerous ani-" Kagome tried to impose.

"No! I don't want to hear it! You are going to get the key and let this poor young man out of this cage!" She demanded,

"But-"

"NOW!"

"Okay" mumbled Kagome. She glanced at Inuyasha who was ogling at her mother with his mouth wide open. Everyone in the room peered intently at Kagome as she took the key out of her pocket and bent down to unlock the cage.

Click!

The cage door opened and Naraku slowly got out, stretching his arms and legs.

Mrs Higurashi asked brightly,

"Are you going to be alright? I do apologise for my daughter's behaviour." She told him.

Naraku bowed his head slightly, "No need to worry, I feel fine. Thank you very much for your concern." He said in sickly charming way.

He glanced slyly at Kagome and grinned.

"Please, sit down." Kagome's mother said leading him towards a large comfy armchair.

"Thank you." Naraku said, as he planted himself in the soft cushiony seat. The problem was that it was one of those armchairs that make people sink into them. Naraku soon found himself sinking into the cushions. He began to panic, certain that the armchair was a demon trying to absorb him and his powers. He began to flail his arms and legs wildly.

"Noooooooo! I am being absorbed! I'm to young to die! I shall not give in so easily!" he screamed.

He became engulfed by dark purple smoke, that billowed around the whole room. Everyone coughed and spluttered, except Sesshoumaru, he merely blinked.

"Kagomeeeee!" Inuyasha yelled, and jumped over to her, covering her with his fire rat robe.

Naraku's deep echoing voice reverberated off the walls of the room.

HAHAHAHAHA, NO ONE CAN OVERPOWER THE GREAT NARAKU! I CANNOT BE DESTROYED! MOOHOOHAHAHOOHA!-MAHA!-MAHAHAHAHAHOOHAHAAAAAAaaaaa…..

His voice gradually faded away and the miasma cleared. Everyone stopped coughing and looked over at the armchair. Naraku was still there blinking, only his head, hands and legs showing. He seemed to be stuck. Mrs Higurashi, who was standing next to the armchair, leaned over,

"Would you prefer a stool dear?" she asked him discreetly.

Naraku nodded.

She pulled him out with help from a reluctant Kagura and brought him a stool for him to sit on. She then made her way to the kitchen.

"Come into the kitchen! I'll have breakfast ready in no time!"

There was a stampede to the kitchen, Inuyasha, along with Kouga being the first to enter. Kagome was left standing in the middle of a dusty, foggy sitting room. Sesshoumaru being the only one who didn't enter the kitchen still stood in front of the painting.

Kagome sighed heavily and walked towards where her mother was preparing breakfast.

A/N: Phew! That was long! My fingers hurt! I hope you guys found it funny. Please let me know with your reviews! Please? Please? Hmmm?


	10. Along the Way

Well hello theres! This Kyuuketsuki would like to sincerely like to thank these wonderful wonderful reviewers! Kei-Ookami.kara.mori, spongekid A.K.A numbuh, sakurablossomskxk, inuyasha-loves-kagome-for, Kiwi-San and coolmarauders, ranchan23, I love you aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllll! (blows kisses and throws rose petals).

Disclaimer: I'd love to but I can't, not with a gun pointing at my head. Just jokes, I don't own Inuyasha.

**Chapter 10: Along the Way…**

After everyone had breakfast, Kagome went to the sitting room to phone up the dance academy. She dialled the number and as she waited for someone to answer, everybody came into the room one by one to gawp at the strange contraption that was the phone.

A nasal voice answered, "nnnhello? Tippytoes Dance Academy, how may I help you?"

Kagome began talking, and the rest looked at her, wondering why she was talking to a stick on a piece of curly rope. Mrs Higurashi was in the kitchen clearing up the breakfast plates and washing them. Sesshoumaru walked casually over to a window near the sofa and peered outside. Naraku stayed standing; he didn't touch anything in case something else tried to absorb him. Kikyo kept her hands behind her back afraid of breaking anything else. Kouga tried edging nearer to Kagome but somehow Ayame always got in the way, pointing at random things in the sitting room.

"Okay! Thanks!" Kagome put down the phone, faced them and smiled. "The academy is sending one of their minibuses to pick us up at 10:30, that's in half an hour. So I'll just go and get changed, don't touch anything, I'll be right back!" She ran up the stairs and into her room, closing the door. And locking it.

There was total silence in the sitting room, nothing was to be heard apart from the ticking of the wall clock and a few 'ahem's. Inuyasha sat on the sofa and twitched his leg impatiently, Naraku stood behind the sofa, twiddling his thumbs and swaying to and fro. Then, Hakudoushi said in a bored voice, "Does anyone have any friggin' idea of what a mee-nee-boos is?" Everyone shook their heads. Hakudoushi slapped his forehead.

Footsteps were heard and everyone turned to see Kagome walking down the stairs. She wore stylish black jeans and a pale pink t-shirt that fit just right.

"You look nice," commented Sango. Miroku nodded keenly in agreement. Sango looked at him.

"You also look nice Sango!" Miroku said quickly, smiling.

There was a 'beep!' from outside, making Shippou shoot up into the air in fright.

"Gaaaaaaaaaah!" he screamed. Kagome caught him.

"It's only the minibus, c'mon everyone, outside!" She said.

They all filed outside the front door up to the waiting minibus. Kagome walked ahead and stood by the door of the bus. She counted everyone as they went in before finally getting in herself. Mrs Higurashi stood on the doorstep of the house with her hands together.

Inside the minibus people pushed and shoved, not knowing what to do. When Kagome got in she hushed everyone and explained what the seats were for.

"Ooooooh," they all said.

They picked their seats, Kagome got into a seat behind the driver and motioned to a confused Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha! Sit with me!" Kagome said oblivious.

WHAM! Inuyasha hit the floor of the minibus making it jolt.

"Oooops!" Kagome covered her mouth. "Sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Inuyasha got up, grumbling, but soon blushed as he sat down in the seat next to Kagome. She smiled at him apologetically.

Naraku chose a seat near the back, close to the window and Kagura sat in the seat in front of him. Shippou didn't know where to sit so he hopped onto Kagome's lap and bounced there excitedly.

Kikyo floated gloomily around looking for a seat and spotted an empty one. She glided over to it and sat down. She turned to her left to see who was next to her.

"Hmhmhmhm…why hello…Kikyo." Naraku chuckled. Kikyo narrowed her eyes at him.

Sesshoumaru sat in the seat behind Kagome and Inuyasha, staring out the window with a hand on his chin. The seats were soon filled, and Miroku was still standing, along with Hakudoushi and Kanna. Miroku spotted the empty seat next to Sesshoumaru and made his way over there.

"Ahem, um…is it alright if I sat there?" Miroku inquired.

Sesshoumaru responded with a piercing death glare.

"Fine then I'll stand," Miroku said hurriedly and looked around. Sango sat with Kohaku so that meant no fondling on the way for Miroku.

Kouga was sitting grumpily near the window, while Ayame chatted to him non-stop, holding his arm. Kanna and Hakudoushi eyed Kagura and the empty seat next to her. They went over to Naraku and complained.

"Why does Kagura get to sit by herself? The two of us don't have seats! Make _her_ stand." Hakudoushi whined.

"Very well" Said Naraku in his deep voice, "Kagura! Stand and let these two take those seats."

Kagura fumed, getting up from the seat angrily and let her two siblings sit down. Hakudoushi stuck his tongue out at her. She growled.

She looked around the minibus for an available seat.

Sango took pity on Miroku, seeing him standing there.

"Kohaku, come, sit on my lap." Sango said, patting her knees.

"But sister, won't I be too heavy for-" began Kohaku.

"Nonsense! Just sit." Sango said.

Miroku sighed. He didn't really know what these strange meeneebooses did and he would have preferred to sit down to find out.

"Miroku!" called out a voice that rang sweetly in his ears. Sango waved at him from her seat. "Come and sit with us!"

He eagerly made his way to Sango and Kohaku and sat down. No fondling allowed though, since Kohaku was in the way. Miroku shrugged. Oh well.

Kagura was left standing by herself. She saw only one available seat left. The one next to Sesshoumaru. She sighed. And trudged to the front, plonking down onto the seat. She looked at Sesshoumaru from the corner of her eye, he made no movements. Kagura breathed out, relieved that she was still alive.

Kagome turned around in her seat.

"Is everyone sitting in a seat?" She called out. They mumbled their 'yes's.

"Right! Let's go then!" She exclaimed happily and the driver nodded.

A/N: This Chapter bored me, I dunno about you guys though. Oh yeah and I might update for a while cos I've got 2 WEEKS OF EXAMS coming up and I really need to study. So you guys'll have to wait a bit longer. Sorry! Please read and review my little ones!


	11. Travel Sickness

Hey! I have time to update today! I'm happy now. There's just an English exam to study for but since I live in Colombia the exam will be like this:

I like apples…do you like apples? Yes I do…put the verbs in past tense blahblahblah, you get the picture. Its really easy. Thank you heaps for your reviews coolmarauders, Sessy15001514, Kiwi-San, ranchan23, Kei-Ookami.kara.mori and Aliryn! I'm doing well in my exams thanks to your motivation! (wipes away tear).

Disclaimer: Yes I own Inuyasha. And I also have stripy butterfly wings, come from the planet ping pong and eat through my nose.

**Chapter 11: Travel Sickness**

The driver focused on the road ahead of him, there were a number of bumps and holes on the streets, making the minibus jolt and jump.

Kagome chatted happily to Inuyasha, who was to busy staring at the trees and other objects whizzing past his window, to take any notice. Shippou squealed and bounced every time the bus gave a jolt, holding on to Kagome tightly.

Kagome looked over at the rest, to see how they were doing. Everyone was gabbling excitedly and she giggled to herself when the bus joggled and everyone bounced in their seats at the same time.

Kagura was feeling nervous, not only did she have to sit next to _the_ Lord Sesshoumaru but she also was trying really hard not to fall off her seat or worse, on top of him.

She gripped the edge of the seat tightly and fought to stay in one place.

Miroku was thoroughly enjoying the experience, especially the bit when the bus drove over the holes in the road. He would watch Sango bounce along and sigh.

"What are _bounce_ you sighing at _bounce_ houshi-sama?" Sango asked, catching him.

"Nothing Sango. Sigh." Miroku said dreamily. Let's just say he wasn't staring at her face.

Sango realized what he was looking at. "Hentai! Stop staring at my boobs!" SLAP!

Kohaku laughed at the poor monk and at Sango's reaction.

Kouga had his hands on his face. He was BORED STIFF. Ayame just wouldn't shut up. She talked way too much and always tapped his arm and pointed at stuff out the window. Kouga groaned. Why couldn't he have sat next to Kagome instead?

Ayame, on the other hand, was having the time of her life, she enjoyed the view and talking to the man of her dreams, though she didn't seem to notice his groans.

Naraku stared out the window; Kikyo stared in the opposite direction, taking care of not making contact with him. They bounced in their seats along with the minibus and every time their elbows touched a look of disgust appeared on each of their faces.

Naraku began to feel peculiar, something he had never felt before. _What is this? I feel a sort of…uneasiness…fear? No. What could this sensation be?_ His stomach flipped. He felt worse every time the bus jumped. He hiccupped and then moaned. Kikyo turned to look at him and saw that he had covered his mouth with hand and seemed pale.

"Another incarnation coming or something?" Kikyo sneered.

He shook his head and hiccupped again. He felt terrible and the squealing from Hakudoushi and Kanna wasn't helping.

Kagome asked the driver if they would be arriving soon.

"Yes, miss. Another 5 minutes I think." He replied.

Inuyasha was complaining about his sore bottom.

"These damn meeneebooses! They make my butt hurt!" He said angrily, rubbing where it hurt.

Kagome just gave him a look.

"What?" He asked gruffly.

"You mind not rubbing that when I'm around?" Kagome said.

Sweat was dripping down Kagura's face. _Must not fall off seat! Must not fall! Can't hold on! _

Just then the minibus gave one huge jolt, making Kagura lose her grip on the seat. She was flung to one side. She found herself face first in Sesshoumaru's lap and was gripping on to him tightly to prevent herself from falling off her seat.

_Oh crap!_ She thought as she slowly lifted her head and looked up at Sesshoumaru. He stared down at her and blinked. She quickly got off him and regained her composure, avoiding his eyes.

"Ahem." She said.

Sesshoumaru said nothing and continued staring out the window.

Naraku looked bad. That particular jolt made his stomach turn over even more. Kikyo began to look anxious.

"Hey, Naraku…you're not going to transform or anything? You look awful" She said edging away in her seat.

He burped loudly and groaned.

"Okay! We're here!" said the driver. Kagome sighed with relief. The driver braked and the minibus was flung slightly forward making everyone almost crash into the seats in front of them. Kagome stood up and was making her way to the minibus doors when she hard a loud burp, then a retch, then a sickening splatter.

"EEEEEEEEEWWW! GROOOSSSS!" Kikyo screamed.

Kagome rushed to the back of the bus. Everyone's heads turned to see what was going on.

Kagome saw Naraku, who was clutching his stomach and panting, but he seemed to look clean enough. Kikyo, however had been hit with the full blast of sick and was covered in it. Her face was screwed up in disgust. Kagome felt like laughing but thought better of it. She helped Kikyo out of the bus, took out some tissues from her small black handbag and began to scrub.

A/N: heeheehee! Ain't I evil! I guess I don't like Kikyo that much (sorry Kikyo fans!) And why is it I make everything happen to Naraku? Well, to be honest…I don't know exactly. (grins). Please read and review my beloved readers! The Mighty Kyuuketsuki San thanks you.


	12. Tippytoes Dance Academy

HI! It's been a week since I updated! So sorry for the wait guys! Thank you plenty for the reviews Sakurablossomskxk: Yep you're right, funny is coming! Kei-Ookami.kara.mori, Hiei's cute girl, Shippo77379, coolmarauders and Kiwi-San! You are wonderful! Do I seem hyper today? I thought so. Anyways, another week of exams gone, I had to sit a statistics exam that lasted 4 HOURS! All these pie charts and frecuency tables…shudder. I aced my English exam though. Another reason as to why I haven't updated is that I'm currently working on another fanfic, a romance, but I'm only posting it when this story is finished. And you all will be happy to know that I always finish what I start.

Disclaimer: Please don't make me kill you. You already know the answer.

**Chapter 12: Tippytoes Dance Academy**

Kagome had spent almost an hour desperately scrubbing the foul substance off Kikyo's clothes and Inuyasha watched anxiously but not wanting to help. The minibus driver was relieved to find his vehicle unsoiled and revved up the engine to get to the Academy's private carpark. Before he drove off he waved goodbye to Kagome.

"Goodbye miss. Oh, and good luck with the freak parade! Those are some great costumes!" and with that he made off.

Everyone arched an eyebrow thinking… _freak parade?...costumes?_

Kagome waved goodbye and looked at them nervously "Hehehe what a funny man…hehehe. Ahem" She resumed scrubbing.

"There! That's the last of it off!" Kagome said triumphantly and threw the used tissues into the nearest bin. Everyone stared at the huge building in front of them. There were vast stairs leading up to a great entrance. Above the entrance was the sign which read,

'TIPPYTOES DANCE ACADEMY'

Naraku was sitting on one of the stairs clutching his stomach and groaning pathetically. He looked green.

Kagome was about to put a foot on the first step when she heard Kikyo whine;

"But I still smell disgusting!"

Kagome sighed. "I'm sorry, but there's really nothing I can do at the moment."

To her surprise Kikyo shrugged and said "Oh well, I was getting a bit sweaty in these clothes anyway." She screwed up her face in concentration and soon, clean priestess robes materialized on her body. She sighed happily and stretched.

"Aaaaah! That's much better!"

Kagome's eye twitched. "You could have done that when this whole time I 've been scrubbing that, that sick off you like crazy?" she cried.

Kikyo looked at her uncaringly,

"Yeah…why?" she replied.

"Grrrrrrrr! I…oh forget it!" Kagome snapped and flounced up the stairs. "C'mon Inuyasha!" she said grabbing his arm tightly.

Inuyasha turned in time to see Kikyo grin evilly. He also noticed that Kagome was gripping his arm forcefully, and it hurt.

"Ow Kagome! Why are you doin' that?" He yelled. But after receiving nothing more than a glare, he decided to leave it.

They all made their way up the stone steps and through the front doors. They all 'oooh'ed and 'aaah'ed when they entered a large hall with a front desk and many cushioned seats. They walked to the middle of the hall and chattered excitedly all the while. Kagome told them all to stay put and she made over to the receptionist. The receptionist was on the phone.

"Ahem,"

The receptionist didn't look up. Kagome tried again.

"AHEM!" the receptionist looked up, sighed and hung up.

"Nnnnyeeees?" She asked with obvious annoyance.

"Um…hello, er, I'm Kagome Higurashi, I signed myself up along with a few others…is Mr. Tippytoes around so that I may speak to him?" Kagome asked timidly. The receptionist looked bored.

"eeeeeeno, you cannot speak to him at this very moment, Mr Tippytoes is extremely busy right now-" the receptionist began.

"Did thomeone thay my name?" Lisped a voice coming from behind Kagome.

Kagome, and the rest of the group that accompanied her, turned to see a man skip over to them. He was wearing an outrageously pink leotard, around his waist an orange sash was tied, that matched the headband around his blond head and he wore purple legwarmers. He put a hand on his hip and with the other he gestured in a girly fashion.

"Oh helloooo there! I'm Mithter Tippytoeth and thith ith my academy, you are all very welcome!" He said in an excited way.

Kagome sweatdropped. "You're…Mr Tippytoes?"

"Why of courth!"

Kouga stared at the girl-man with a disbelieving look on his face, Inuyasha did the same. Ayame giggled at the way he was dressed and if Naraku hadn't have been feeling so sick he would have been rolling around in a laughing fit. Shippou sat on Miroku's shoulder and was almost crying with laughter. Hakudoushi and Kanna sniggered into their hands and even Kagura was finding as hard to keep herself from chuckling. Kikyo had to float away a bit because she couldn't stop giggling and Miroku and Sango tittered away. Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, remained as cold and as silent as ever.

Mr Tippytoes noticed this strong, silent, handsome man at once and immediately dashed to his side.

Sesshoumaru looked down to his right and saw the ridiculously dressed…er…man, staring back at him, eyes twinkling. Kagura stared in disbelief, _he's a guy, and he's interested in…Sesshoumaru! Okay that's weird. I'll bet Sesshoumaru won't take it._

"Well hello there…my, aren't you a handthome fellow! I bet you have really toned muthleth underneath thothe clotheth!" Mr Tippytoes lifted his hand and reached up to stroke Sesshoumaru's arm. Sesshoumaru's claw whipped up suddenly and grabbed the guy's arm. His cold eyes glared at the impudent mortal.

"Touch me…and die." He said with a warning tone.

Mr Tippytoes giggled nervously, "Oooh, quite the bad tempered one aren't ya!"

But upon seeing that Sesshoumaru was being serious he escaped from his clutches and hid behind Kagome.

"What the-" Kagome began, turning to see him. Mr Tippytoes watched Sesshoumaru carefully from behind Kagome's shoulder.

"He'th mean!" He complained pointing. Kagome didn't know what to say.

Naraku groaned. The nausea hadn't left him yet. He looked up and saw Mr Tippytoes staring at him excitedly. _What the hell is that weirdo staring at?_ Naraku thought to himself. The weirdo stepped out from behind Kagome and did the catwalk all the way to where Naraku stood. He put his hand on his hip.

"Oh my God, you're tho cute! And I abtholutely love thothe colour combinationth! Purple, blue and black, hey, you've got great fashion thenthe!" he said gesturing elatedly.

Naraku wasn't in the mood for this. "I'm warning you, if you get that strange self of yours any closer I will be forced to absorb it!" he burped and moaned, "Or throw up on it at least." He mumbled.

Mr Tippytoes edged away from the evil hanyou and moved on to the next cutie. Kouga.

But before he even got there Ayame stepped in front of the man of her dreams and snarled at the dance teacher. Mr Tippytoes didn't really want to deal with a hostile female, it wasn't really his thing.

Miroku found the whole situation hilarious and his stomach hurt from laughing so much. Well, actually it hurt from the effort of holding it in, a trained monk such as himself couldn't really burst out laughing. He suddenly found himself face to face with a grinning Mr Tippytoes. He swallowed nervously.

"Hey, I like you! And your shiny thtick!" Mr Tippytoes said gleefully.

Miroku was feeling very uncomfortable, well, as uncomfortable as a pervert can get. Sango was almost giggling hysterically but felt sorry for the poor monk. She grabbed Mr Tippytoes by his leotard and hissed,

"Get away from my monk!"

Mr Tippytoes squealed like a girl and hid behind Kohaku.

"Don't touch my brother either!"

Another squeal and he jumped behind the reception desk.

Sango dusted herself and turned to face an awed Miroku. "What?" She asked.

"You, you said I was your mon-" Miroku said, his eyes wide. Sango went tomato red and hurriedly interrupted him,

"Oh be quiet! I only said it to protect him from _you_, who knows what a pervert like you can do!" She cried.

Kagome had just about enough. "Okay can we get down to what we came here for?" she screamed.

Mr Tippytoes head popped up from behind the front desk. "You're abtholutely right!" He sauntered out from behind it and in his hands he held a clipboard with a list of their names. He lifted a page up and read the one under it. "Yeth, now Kagome and I dithcuthed thith beforehand, the competition will be divided in different muthic typeth and each competitor and hith danthing partner mutht-"

"WHAAAAAAAAT? DANCING PARTNERS? YOU MEAN WE HAVE TO DANCE WITH SOMEONE?" Inuyasha roared.

Mr Tippytoes nodded, "Thath what it thayth in the ruleth, Kagome mtht have mentioned it at thome point. I remember going over the pairingth with her when she came a week ago."

Inuyasha glared at Kagome. "You seem to have…forgotten… to bring up that important point," His eye twitched uncontrollably, "didn't you Kagome?" he said dangerously.

"Er…hehehe… must have slipped my mind!" Kagome said uneasily.

"Well, anyway, you all know now tho I'm jutht going to read out everyoneth nameth and who they have to danth with."

Everyone was wishing hard, hoping they would be paired up with the one they wanted. Mr Tippytoes cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

A/N: HAHAHAHA I LEFT IT AT A CLIFFY! Sorry. Phew! What a long chapter! Isn't mr Tippytoes gay? I love playing around with the characters! I hope you guys liked it and keep the reviews coming in, you don't know how much I appreciate them! The Mighty Kyuuketsuki san leaves now.


	13. Pairings and Excuses

I'm updating once again! Thanks for the reviews getfuzzyfan04, Kiwi-San, reigning pirncess117, sakurablossomskxk, Shippo77379 and Lady Kagewaki, I love you all! Ahem. Isn't mr Tippytoes gay? I enjoyed doing his character. Anyway on to chapter 13!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha so stop asking…it's too painful.

**Chapter 13: Pairings and Excuses **

There was tension everywhere. Mr Tippytoes read the first name off the list as everyone crossed their fingers or prayed to Buddha or whatever.

"Okay, the firtht name ith…Kagome. You have been paired up wiiiiiith…"

The tension grew. Inuyasha was sweating.

"…Inuyasha."

"DAMNIT!" yelled Kikyo and Kouga simultaneously.

Kagome knew, of course, that this was the pairing anyway because she had gone over the partner thing herself. She just wanted to get InuYasha nervous. She ran to his side and he blushed furiously.

"I don't wanna dance with you." He mumbled, but Kagome happily took it as 'what a relief'.

"You two will have danth room A2 which ith on the firtht floor, your teacher ith Annie."

Kagome nodded.

"Okay, nektht name ith…Kouga. You're paired up with…Ayame and your danth room will be B5 on the thecond floor. You have Sean ath your teacher."

Ayame squealed with delight and hugged Kouga, but he didn't join in since he was still sulking over the previous pairing. _Why Kagome? Why?_

"Miroku and…"

Miroku lifted his gaze towards the ceiling. _Please Buddha, I beg you…_

"…Thango, danth room A6 on the firtht floor with the teacher Lorenzo."

Miroku silently thanked Kagome for organizing the pairs, as he turned to look at her she gave him a wink. Miroku nodded.

"So, my dear Sango, it seems that destiny is-" he began.

"Be quiet houshi-sama, it's just for the dancing competition." Sango murmured but a blush formed along the bridge of her nose.

"Um whoth nektht?..." Mr Tippytoes searched the page. "Ah yeth, Kikyo and…Naraku,"

GASP!

"…Danth room C1, third floor, your teacher will be Lola."

This news was most unpleasant for both Naraku and Kikyo and they were both having an intense glaring contest, with their eyes narrowed at each other. Oooooh you could feel the hate!

"That leaveth Thesshoumaru and…Kagura, danth room D4, fourth floor, with Fleur ath your teacher."

Kagura's breath caught. _Oh my god, I have to DANCE with him?_ She looked at him. She couldn't tell what he was feeling but he was probably thinking that same thing. He merely glanced in her direction.

"Well, that ith jutht about it!" Mr Tippytoes exclaimed.

Shippou's eyes widened and Kanna, Hakudoushi and Kohaku all protested.

Kagome scooted over to Mr Tippytoes.

"Um, how about the others?" She asked. She gestured towards the complaining youngsters.

"Oh, I'm thorry but no under 15' th allowed to partithipate I'm afraid. Ah, and no petth either." He said eyeing Kirara and then organising the papers on his clipboard.

Kagome sighed unhappily and turned to the little ones.

"Sorry guys but you can't take part in the contest, you're too young." Kagome told them gently. Their heads drooped.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Shippou wailed. Kagome scooped him up and gave him a hug.

"Don't worry, I'll call my mum to come and get you guys and maybe she'll take you to the park or something, okay?" She said comfortingly.

They nodded and at the same time wondered, _what's a park?..._

Mr Tippytoes clapped his hands, "Well, now that everyone ith paired up you can thtart making your way to the danth roomth. Dorith here will ethcort each of you to your roomth." He gestured to a short strict looking woman who was Doris. Doris began to lead them to a vast staircase and the mumbling group began to follow.

"Wait! Kagome can you come here for a thecond?" Mr Tippytoes asked.

Kagome stopped walking. "Okay" she walked up to him.

"It theemth you paid quite a lot to get that group danthing lethonth," said Mr Tippytoes.

"Well, yeah. Quite a bit actually." Kagome agreed.

"Yeth, and we really appreciate the money, our funding you know, for the contetht."

Kagome nodded.

"Tho, on behalf of the academy I've dethided to grant you and your group a week'th thtay in the Yoru hotel." He smiled.

Kagome's eyes widened. "The Yoru Hotel? Wow! Thanks! I…wow! You…wow!" She gibbered.

"Here'th the addreth and jutht show them thith document thigned by me. They'll let you right in." He handed her the document and a small rectangular card on which was imprinted;

'_The Yoru Hotel'_

With the address. It was situated close by so it was a very convenient place to stay for the reason that they wouldn't have to hire a minibus every time they needed to get to the dance academy.

"Kagomeeee!" InuYasha yelled.

Kagome looked behind her and saw the grumpy hanyou and the moany group. She sighed.

"Thanks Mr Tippytoes, oh and can I use the phone? I need to get my mum to collect the smaller ones." Kagome asked shyly.

"Why of corth! Oh and when you join the group, give a kith to the boy with the earth for me, he'th cute!" Mr Tippytoes laughed. He twirled around and pranced off.

Kagome arched an eyebrow. _Weirdo, humph! Me give Inuyasha a kiss! Ridiculous!_ But she blushed at the thought. She went up to the front desk to call her mum and when she did she told Shippou, Kanna, Kohaku and Hakudoushi to wait in reception for her mum to arrive and collect them. They nodded sadly as she waved and joined the group. Inuyasha had his arms crossed and the woman, Doris was looking impatient.

"Okay let's go then!" Kagome said cheerfully.

Everyone glared at her.

"Waaaaaaaaaaiiiiit!" came a yell. Mr Tippytoes was running towards them, waving his arms about. He skidded to a stop and stooped to catch his breath.

"I forgot…one thing…pantpantpant…each pair hath to thtick to their own danth, no one ith allowed to peek in on other peopleth lethonth and anyone found doing tho will be dithqualified…okay that wath it…thee you!" and with that he skipped away.

Every body exchanged glances and shrugged. Doris continued to lead the way and they arrived at the first floor.

Inuyasha and Kagome were the first to be escorted to their dance room. Kagome waved to the rest of them and wished them good luck as they were led further along by Doris.

Kagome sighed. "Well Inuyasha, let's go in!"

"NO!"

Kagome stared at him in surprise. "Yes!"

"I ain't goin' nowhere!" He argued.

"Oh come on Inuyasha stop being such a baby!" she cried and grabbed his arm to drag him towards the door.

Inuyasha pulled back, "NOOOOO! I DON'T WANNA MAKE AN ASS OF MYSELF!" He protested loudly.

"COME…..OOOOOOOON!" Kagome screamed, pulling harder. He was beginning to slide towards the door.

"KAGOMEEEEE! LEGGO A ME!" He yelled.

"NO! You're coming in with me mister!" She shouted in reply. He struggled and heaved. Inuyasha frantically began to think of what he could do to make Kagome not force him to dance.

"UUH, UM….OOOOOOOWWW MY LEG! I-I-I THINK IT'S BROKEN!"

"Inuyasha stop it! You're leg is NOT broken!"

"OK, MY LEG ISN'T BROKEN!...IT'S, IT'S, IT'S MY ARM! YEAH! MY ARM! OOOOOOW! THE PAIN! I CAN'T DANCE LIKE THIS!"

"Your arm is fine!" Kagome yelled angrily.

"WHO, WHO SAID THAT! OH NO! I'VE GONE BLIND! IT'S SO DARK KAGOME! I CAN'T SEEEEEEE! I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO DANCE LIKE THIS!"

"Inuyasha….!" Kagome said dangerously.

"KAGOME? I-I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I'M DEAF! HELLO! HELLO?"

"OOOOOOSWAAAAAAAARIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

CRASH!

"I GUESS YOU HEARD THAT JUST FINE THEN?" Kagome screamed. She yanked Inuyasha's ear and pulled him up from the floor and began dragging him towards the door.

"Ow ow ow ah ah ah Kagome!" Inuyasha whined. Kagome knocked on the door and it opened immediately. There stood a woman with short blond hair and blue eyes she also wore a leotard but with a t-shirt on top of it.

"Hello, I'm Annie and I shall be instructing you all this week." She said brightly.

Kagome was red in the face and slightly out of breath. "Nice to meet you Annie. This is Inuyasha my…_partner." _

Inuyasha rubbed his back and his ear. He grunted and crossed his arms. Annie sighed. _This is going to be a tough week._

A/N: Well, I don't know but I enjoyed writing this chapter. If you enjoyed reading it then pleeeeeeeeeease let me know, you know what to do already, you lot being so intelligent and everything (there I go with the flattery). No, really, R&R!


	14. Teachers and Students

I PASSED ALL MY EXAMS!WOOHOOOOOOOO! Sorry, my fingers have minds of their own. Oh, and I am sooooo excessively, crazily, eccentrically thankful for all the reviews I got from these marvellous people; Sessy15001514, Kiwi-San, Aliryn, lady-kagome84, Lady Kagewaki, Shippo77379 (thanks about the disclaimers!) and coolmarauders, Kei-Ookami.kara.mori and listersgirl. Thanks guys!

Here's a lovely chapter especially for you! Let's get silly!

Disclaimer: Erm, ok maybe not _that_ silly.

**Chapter 14: Teachers and Students.**

Annie closed the door behind them. Inuyasha looked around the large dance room which was surrounded by large mirrors and hand rails.

"Hey Kagome! Look! There's loads of Inuyashas!" he pointed excitedly. Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes and Annie arched an eyebrow.

"Riiiiight…Anyway, today I'm not going to get you started on dancing lessons just yet. However, I _will_ commence with basic stretching methods to relieve the tension in those stiff bodies!" Annie said enthusiastically. Inuyasha stared at her open mouthed.

"But first, let's get you both into some comfortable clothes." She said eyeing Inuyasha and making her way towards a closet situated in a corner of the room. She rummaged around and finally got hold of a green leotard, a t-shirt and baggy pants. She handed the green leotard to Kagome who took it. Annie then turned to Inuyasha and held out the t-shirt and pants.

"What! I'm not gonna change into those!" said Inuyasha incredulously. Kagome was in no mood to argue.

"Inuyasha," She said tiredly, "Please change. It's only 11am and you have already worn me out, so please?" Her eyes became large and watery.

Inuyasha couldn't stand that look. He snatched the clothes and grumbling, stomped towards the closet to change.

Doris escorted the following pair, Miroku and Sango, to their dance room. They waved to the rest as they were taken up the next flight of stairs leading to the second floor.

Miroku breathed out, staring at the plaque on the door that said 'A6'.

"Well, shall we knock then?" He asked.

Sango nodded. She rapped loudly on the door. It opened almost immediately and the one holding it was the teacher, Lorenzo.

"Buenos días! My name ees Lorrrenzo" he said in a deep voice with a strong puerto rican accent. He was tanned and his black hair was slick with gel. He wore a dark red long sleeved shirt, slightly unbuttoned, revealing an extremely hairy chest and a gold medallion and tight black trousers held up with a leather belt. Lorenzo's eyes widened.

"Dios mío! Neverrr beforrre have I seeeen a flowerrr morrrre beeeauteefool than you señorita!" He said. He took Sango's hand and kissed it. Sango giggled and blushed.

"Oh Lorenzo, thank you!" She said breathlessly.

Miroku felt a pang of jealousy and tightened the hold on his holy stick. He cleared his throat loudly.

"Ah yes, now we weell only bee doiiing some strrretching today before the rreeeal dancing begiiins, oh, and you will need to get changed so that yourrr body may be allowed to move frreely." Said Lorenzo as he gestured around with his hands.

Miroku and Sango exchanged nervous glances.

"Come in now and we shall starrrt." He insisted.

Lorenzo led Sango through the door and immediately slammed it shut just as Miroku was going to enter. Sango, on the inside, realized that her partner was missing when she heard a knock on the door. Lorenzo sighed and opened it.

"Please forgive me señor! I did not realize!" Said Lorenzo in fake concern.

"Its ok I'b fibe." Mumbled Miroku, holding his bloody nose.

Kouga and Ayame arrived in front of their dance room and Ayame knocked on the door, while Kouga crossed his arms and sulked.

It opened.

"Top o' the mornin' to ya! I'm Sean O'Malley yur dance teacher, please, step inside!" Said a cheerful ginger haired man with an Irish accent. Ayame jumped up and down with excitement, grabbed Kouga by the pony tail and wrenched him inside and the only sound he managed to make was a;

"Guuurrrrrrrrrkkkk!"

Naraku and Kikyo stood in front of their door. Naraku reached out to knock but then pulled his hand back. He looked at Kikyo slyly.

"Why don't you knock?" he asked.

"I'm not one of your worthless minions Naraku, you do it." She replied.

"You're already dead aren't you? If something happens to you then no harm done." He argued.

"So what if I'm dead? You've got all these extra arms and tentacles and stuff, you might as well use one of them to knock on this damn door!" she yelled.

"Well what if I don't wanna!" Shouted Naraku in reply.

"Then I'll just have to-"

A loud voice sounded from behind the door,

"JUST KNOCK ON THE GODAMN DOOR ALREADY!"

This startled them, and both of them hurriedly knocked at the same time. The door swung open and there stood a proud looking Argentinean woman with her hair tied in a tight bun, a red blouse and a black skirt that went down just above her knees.

"Thank you. I'm Lola, yourr teacher, this means you have to obey my instructions and follow my rrules. Have I been understood?" she said in an authoritative tone.

Naraku looked at her in disbelief. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"If you believe that I, Naraku will follow the orders of an inferior being you are terribly mista-" he began.

"HAVE I BEEN UNDERSTOOD?" Lola screamed.

Naraku cowered. "Yes Ma'am!" he squeaked. Kikyo stared on in amazement. _This is going to be interesting._

Kagura and Sesshoumaru were the last to be escorted to their dance room. When they arrived, Doris wished them good luck in the contest and left. Kagura sighed.

"Are you gonna knock or- fine I'll do it." Kagura said, after receiving a glare from Sesshoumaru. _Jeez this guy creeps me out with those eyes of his!_

She knocked and waited. A blonde woman opened it and gestured for the both of them to enter.

"I'm Fleur and I'll be teaching you zis week." She said softly with a french accent.

She was a petite woman, and looked relatively harmless. She walked towards a closet and took out some clothes.

"Please change into zese, it will be easier to stretch in zem." She said as she handed a t-shirt and leggings to Kagura and a t-shirt and baggy pants to Sesshoumaru. He received them and peered at them curiously. Kagura snorted.

"Pfft! I don't need to stretch, I'm in perfect shape. And as for these, er, clothes… I don't need 'em." Kagura said tossing them back to Fleur. Kagura turned away from Fleur and stood with her arms crossed.

"You _will_ wear zese clothes because _I_ am ze teacher so you will do whatever _I_ say." She said dangerously. And with that she threw the clothes back to Kagura. "Change _now_." Kagura chuckled and went up to Fleur.

"Hehehe…I'd love to see you try and get _him_ to change." She said jabbing her thumb over her shoulder towards where Sesshoumaru was supposedly standing. Fleur looked behind Kagura. She tittered softly and shook her head. Kagura was confused.

"What are you laughing a-" she began. She heard a deep 'ahem' and she turned around. Sesshoumaru had already changed and was looking almost bored.

"Get changed wind sorceress, and do not make me wait."

A/N: I'm not revealing their dances, I'll leave that for the contest and the contest only!now review or I'll be forced to send my trusty kyuuketsuki bats after you all! Muahahahahahahahahahcoughcoughhahahahahah! (please?)


	15. Hotel Jerks, I Mean, Clerks

I'm surprised I'm updating today. I had to go on some crappy school excursion and I didn't want to go. But the teacher said I would be suspended for 2 days. So I was forced to pay and go. Then the bus that took us broke down! So we had to waaaalk! I want my money back! I am so thankful for you reviewers! I feel loved. No, really I do! Thanks coolmarauders, Viperthe strange, SmifaliciousPurpleSquirrel, Naja607, getfuzzyfan04, ranchan23 (good guess! I'm actually half Colombian, half Portuguese and born in England!) , Lady Kagewaki, kagomemaster94, lalalalala2 and Sessy15001514, . I've got loads of new ideas, hope you enjoy 'em!

Disclaimer: hold on, let me just phone up Rumiko and ask her if I own Inuyasha. (author goes and dials number. Talks for a while then hangs up.) nope, thought not.

**Chapter 15: Annoying Hotel Jerks-I Mean-Clerks **

"Now streeeeeeetch, that's it, relax those tense muscles! Very good! Just point your foot slightly…perfect. And reeeeest." Said Annie in an almost soothing voice.

Kagome was enjoying this thoroughly, she had no idea how flexible she was. It was probably all that demon fighting that did it. Inuyasha on the other hand was a bit stiffer.

"ow, ow, ow, OW, OW!" he yelled as he tried to lower himself in order to touch his toes.

"Try not to push yourself too hard, it'll come easily." Annie told him.

Inuyasha straightened slowly and his back cricked. "SHIT! MY BACK!" he cried out as he hobbled over to a chair to sit down for a while. Kagome picked herself up from the floor after her stretch, putting her hands on her hips and shaking her head.

"No matter! You'll catch on pretty quickly, after all it _is_ your first day!" Said Annie reassuringly. She looked down at her watch. It was 3pm. "We'll take a break and then we'll continue until 5pm. Okay?"

Kagome nodded eagerly and Inuyasha glared at the dance teacher that made him feel pain. Annie handed them both a bottle of water and went to the closet to take out a stereo. Inuyasha and Kagome exchanged glances.

"…And step, and two, and bend, and three, then streeeeeeeetch….verry good señorita Sango!" complimented Lorenzo. The aerobics music accompanied their steps and stretches and Sango was picking it up pretty quickly. Lorenzo did nothing but marvel and complement her, staying at her side all the time.

Sango giggled and Miroku, as he stretched, glared at Lorenzo.

"Ahem. and how about me? How am I doing?" asked Miroku. Lorenzo didn't even glance in his direction; he merely waved his hand dismissively.

"fine, fine señor." Lorenzo said, impatiently. Miroku glowered at him.

Sango stopped. "Lorenzo, why don't we rest for a while?" she panted.

"Of courrrse florecita mía! Take as much time as you need!" he told her. Miroku sighed with relieve as he rubbed his sore back. He still hadn't got used to the strange modern clothes he was given, since he always wore monk robes back home. Sango however, moved in the new clothes comfortably, her demon slayer suit being something similar to them.

Lorenzo passed her one of the two bottles of water he held in his hands. Miroku walked over to them and held out his hand to receive the other bottle but Lorenzo didn't give it to him. Instead he took a large gulp of water and pointedly ignored Miroku, leaving him standing there with his hand out.

Miroku stared angrily at Lorenzo. He was thirsty damn it! He felt a light tap on his shoulder and when he turned round he saw Sango holding out her half empty bottle to him.

"Here Houshi-sama, you can have the rest."

"Thank you Sango" Miroku said breathlessly and he drank the water left in the bottle.

Kouga simply refused to budge. Even after Ayame begged and pleaded with him, he still didn't move. Sean just shrugged his shoulders.

"It doesn't matter Ayame, if he doesn't want to get fit and obtain bigger, stronger, well built muscles to impress the ladies with, then that's up to him ain't it" he said, looking at his fingernails.

Kouga thought carefully. He could do with bigger muscles to impress Kagome with.

"Okay, fine let's do the stupid stretching already!" he snapped. Sean grinned and put on the aerobics music and began demonstrating each stretch while Kouga and Ayame did their best to follow.

Lola went to the closet to take out comfortable exercise clothes while Kikyo and Naraku stared at themselves in the mirrors.

"Do I really look like that?" asked Naraku, turning this way and that.

Kikyo gave him a bored look. "No you actually look a whole lot worse." She smirked.

"Why you-" began Naraku, raising his fist. Lola at that moment pranced up to them and tossed them the clothes.

Naraku caught his and stared at them disbelievingly. Kikyo took them and stroked the strange material.

"Now, afterrr you get changed wee wiiill do a few strrretches to get starrte-"

"You expect me to wear _these_?" Naraku asked in disbelief.

Lola looked at him harshly. "Yes I do, and I expect you to get changed NOW."

Naraku snorted. "No" he told her pointedly.

"YES" Lola snapped.

Naraku glowed red and rose up off the ground, his hair flowing wildly.

"I am the great Naraku, nothing and no one can control me!" he boomed.

Lola merely stared at him boringly. She took a few steps closer to him. Kikyo watched, amused at what the turnout would be.

"YOU COME DOWN RRRIGHT NOW! I'LL GIVE UNTIIIL THREE! ONE!...TWO!...AAAAND….THREE! DOWN, NOOOW!" Lola screeched loudly.

Naraku lowered himself to the ground in a split second. Lola approached him and glared at him murderously.

"I THOUGHT I MADE MYSELF CLEARRR ON WHO WAS THE TEACHERRR! NOW GET YOUR POWERRR CRAZY ASS INTO THAT CLOSET AND GET…CHANGED…NOOOW!" She blasted in his face.

Naraku let out a yelp and raced to the closet and slamming the door. Kikyo sniggered but stopped immediately when Lola whipped round to glower at her.

"WHAT ARRE YOU GIGGLING AT? GET CHANGED! RAPIDO, RAPIDO!" Lola shrieked, clapping her hands loudly in front of Kikyo's face. Kikyo floated quickly over to the closet and waited for Naraku to come out so that she could get in and change.

Kagura sat down wearily and panted, it seemed she wasn't as fit as she thought. Sesshoumaru just stood and stared.

_Huh, he's done the same exercises as me, yet he hasn't even broken into a sweat! Heh, maybe it's because he's so cold, hehehe. _She thought. Fleur turned the aerobics music down and waited patiently for Kagura to catch her breath. The albino guy was doing very well for a beginner, she noticed he had a certain elegance about him as he moved. But as for his partner…well, she needed a little more practice.

Fleur looked down at her watch and gasped.

"Mon Dieu! It is six pm! Well that's it for today I zink. You may change back into your, er, garments and pass me ze clothes you are wearing to wash them for tomorrow." Said Fleur.

Kagura and Sesshoumaru complied and after a few minutes they left the dance room.

"Au revoir, I shall see you tomorrow so we can get started on your performance for ze competition. Get plenty of rest and eat well tonight okay?" purred Fleur in her French accent.

Sesshoumaru 'humph'ed. He was a full demon Lord, he did not need to rest or eat like the lesser beings. He was surprised he hadn't killed anyone yet.

They both made their way down the stairs. Kagura glanced at him quickly.

"Well, that was interesting wasn't it?" She asked. She was met with silence. "Where are the others d'you think?" she enquired. More silence. _Boy, he's really starting to bug me! I think I'll just talk to a stone wall, it might be more productive!_

They arrived on the first floor, at the front desk. There was everyone, apart from Kagome and Inuyasha. They all looked worn out, especially Naraku and Kikyou who were looking around nervously in case Lola appeared any where.

"Okay guys I'm here!" cried Kagome, dragging a tired out Inuyasha along. "The hotel we're staying in is about 10 minutes away from here by foot and we'd better get going if we want to rest and eat." She told them. They all nodded tiredly. They all traipsed after her as she led the way, glancing at the address on the card Mr Tippytoes had given to her.

People on the streets stared at the strangely dressed group as they walked through the city. A few pointed at InuYasha and his ears, he growled at them menacingly.

They arrived at the grand Yoru Hotel and marvelled at it's huge glass doors and splendidly dressed porters. They entered and walked along the red carpet covering the floor of the foyer and gazed at the chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling.

Kagome approached the reception desk and rang the little bell. _Trrrrriiiiing!_

The hotel clerk turned to greet her.

"Nnnyes, welcome to the Yoru hotel, how may I help you?" he drawled.

Kagome cleared her throat. "Um, yes, hello, um, I'm here about the rooms that were reserved by Mr Tippytoes? Of Tippytoes dance academy? The rooms for me and my friends." She explained gesturing at the group. The hotel clerk glanced at the group of strangely clad beings and raised his eyebrows. He looked back at Kagome.

"I'm sorry but um…" he started, trying to find an excuse not to let those outrageously dressed people into the grand hotel. "…I'm afraid there are no vacant rooms." He said snootily. Kagome stared at him in disappointment.

"What? But, but these papers, they're signed by Mr Tippytoes himself! Look!" she insisted. The Hotel clerk look down at her a look of dislike on his face.

"You don't honestly think I'll allow those…clowns, enter this hotel? It'll ruin our reputation!" he said in a dignified voice.

"But-" Kagome began.

"Now leave or I'll be forced to call security." He said, dismissing her with a wave of his hand. Kagome glared at him angrily and stomped off towards the group.

"What's wrong Kagome?" asked Inuyasha.

"That stupid hotel jerk! He refused to give us the rooms!" she spat. Inuyasha rolled up the sleeves of his haori.

"I'll teach him to-" Inuyasha growled. Kagome grabbed his arm.

"NO! Violence isn't the answer Inuyasha! Besides, I have a better idea." Said Kagome. Inuyasha lowered his fists reluctantly. Kagome edged up to Sesshoumaru cautiously and tapped his arm. He looked down at her coldly.

Kagome gulped. "Erm, Sesshoumaru, could you, er, _convince_ the hotel clerk to give us the rooms? You being good at persuading and all that." Asked Kagome meekly.

"Humph. And what makes you, a human, think I'll do such a thing?" he told her icily.

Kagome thought for a moment. "I won't tell any one about the sack thing. Not even Rin."

Sesshoumaru pondered. "Very well human, but only this once. The next time, I may have to kill you." He said flatly. Kagome gulped.

Sesshoumaru reached the desk in three long strides. The hotel clerk looked up. He sighed.

"I told the young woman I can't let you enter this hote-" he began. Sesshoumaru reached across the desk and swept him off the ground, holding him by the neck.

The hotel clerk gurgled, tapping Sesshoumaru's hand, that was around his neck.

"Uh, could you, _cough_ let me go please? _Gurgle_" he asked, straining.

Sesshoumaru stared at him uncaringly.

"The rooms." He said in his deep monotone voice. The clerk gulped.

"I'm sorry but _cough_ I can't do that _splutter_ let go before I _gurgle_ call security!" he squeaked.

Sesshoumaru simply tightened his grip around the man's neck. The clerk gasped for breath.

"The rooms." he repeated, his voice rising slightly. The clerk, aware that all those in the foyer were gaping at them, reached into his pocket and pulled out the room keys and held them out to Sesshoumaru. He took them and dropped the clerk onto the ground, behind the desk. Sesshoumaru strode towards Kagome as the clerk spluttered and coughed from behind the reception desk. Sesshoumaru tossed her the keys. Kagome caught them gawping at him in disbelief. She hadn't really been expecting him to do that, she thought he would just talk things out with the clerk, not _strangle_ him. Oh well, at least they got the rooms.

"C'mon everyone our rooms are on the second floor, there are only two, but they're suites, you know, loads of beds and adjacent bathrooms and stuff." She stopped spotting the looks of bewilderment on each of their faces. She sighed. "Never mind, just follow me."

She led them up a huge staircase to the second floor and stopped when she found the two rooms. "201 and 202, yep these are the rooms!" she said checking the numbers on the keys. She handed one of the keys to Miroku.

"Here, take this, you just put it in that little hole and turn, yeah like that, and hear that click? It means you've opened it. Now all the guys in this room! I expect you to stay in there and no funny business okay? Got that Miroku?" Kagome asked him. Miroku laughed nervously.

"Good. G' night guys!" She said. They all mumbled and grumbled as they entered the room, especially Inuyasha, Kouga and Naraku, seeing they would have to share a room.

Kagome put the key in the door to open it and when it did she told the girls to go in. They gawked at the luxurious suite, it had five huge beds, a kitchenette, a sofa and a bathroom. It was beautifully decorated with satin curtains and fancy wallpaper and it smelt deliciously of lavender. Kagome breathed in and sighed happily, glancing at the girls who looked on in awe. Kagome yawned and realized it was getting late.

"We'd better get some sleep, it's going to be a long day tomorrow" she reminded them.

The girls nodded and one by one, flung themselves onto the comfortable beds to get a good night's rest.

A/N: Quite a long one isn't it? The next chapter will be a good one, I can promise you that! You know what to do, read and review! (hey that rhymed! Sorry, kyuuketsuki san pretty sleepy right now.) snore.


	16. Waking up in the Yoru Hotel

WOW! Over 100 reviews! Thaaaaank youuuu! I am grateful to you Female SSBM Fan, getfuzzyfan04, Viperthe strange (I guess you like cheese a lot, huh?), Kiwi-San, Lady Kagewaki (you're welcome! And thanks for your reviews too!), Kei-Ookami.kara.mori, darkdemon3592, lady-kagome84, lalalalala2, Sessy15001514 and ranchan23 ( I know exactly what you mean, I live in Colombia and I can say anything I want in English or Portuguese and no one understands what the hell I'm saying!). Thanks guys! I had some weird dream last night, it had Naraku in it and he looked HOT. He had black pants and a black leather belt with a silver buckle, a black long sleeved shirt with the top button undone and he was as evil as ever! Maybe that was the real reason as to why I was drooling over my pillow this morning. Anyway, next chapter!

Disclaimer: are all of your memories failing in your old age or something? No? then why to I have to keep reminding you of me not owning Inuyasha? Hmmmm?

**Chapter 16: Waking up in the Yoru Hotel**

Kagome woke up early that morning. She stretched under the covers and yawned loudly and glanced at the other beds where the rest of the girls were.

_Wait a minute, _Kagome sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. _Kikyo's not in her bed! Oh no! Where could she have gone?_ Kagome ran her fingers through her hair, thinking about the possibilities. Kagura and Ayame, who weren't actually sleeping since they were demonesses, watched Kagome warily from their beds.

"Um, are you okay?" Ayame asked anxiously. Kagome shook her head. "Kikyo's not here! What am I going to doooo?" she moaned. Sango stirred in her bed and opened her eyes.

"morninkagomewasswrongwivyou?" she mumbled sleepily. Kagome just sighed.

"Can you guys help me find Kikyo? We can't go to the academy without her." Kagome pleaded. Sango nodded her head and came out from under the covers, yawning and stretching. Kagura shrugged and Ayame said okay.

"Thanks!" Kagome breathed, "Now Sango, you come with me and we'll search in the dining hall, Kagura, Ayame, you two will go down to the-"

Kagome stopped and turned her head slightly. There it was, that rustling sound again.

"Kagome?" enquired Sango. Kagome shushed her. Kagura and Ayame exchanged glances. Kagome made her way to the door of the kitchenette and opened it slowly. _Rustlerustlerustle. _It sounded like paper or wrappers or something like that. Kagome entered the kitchenette cautiously and grabbed a butter knife lying nearby on the counter. There was someone there, behind the cupboard door fiddling with wrappers and rubbish, Kagome stepped lightly towards the cupboard, holding the butter knife out in front of her like a weapon.

"KYAAAAAAAAAA! DON'T DO ANY THING STUPID! I'M ARMED I WARN YOU! AAAAARRRMED!" Kagome screamed yanking back the cupboard door and revealing…

Kikyo jumped up in fright at the sound of Kagome's yells, clutching her chest and various chocolate wrappers.

"Kikyo? What are you doing?" Kagome asked, regaining her breath after the screaming.

"nuthin'" Kikyo mumbled, her mouth was full of chocolate and her face was smeared with it's stickiness. An ample variety of papers and wrappings was strewn around her, all of them empty. Kagome eyed Kikyo suspiciously.

"Nothing? It looks like you've been eating all the junk food in this cupboard, or am I mistaken?" Kagome said, bending down to examine the wrappers. Kikyo gulped.

"Hmmm, chocolate bars, gummy bears, biscuits, crisps, coke, brownies…" Kagome muttered, naming all of the things Kikyo had eaten. Kagome straightened and shook her head.

"What's going on?" Sango entered the kitchenette and went to stand next to Kagome, staring open mouthed at the Kikyo smeared in sweet, sticky substances. Kagura and Ayame also came in and gawped at her. Kikyo started to get annoyed.

"Stop staring already." She told them coldly. Then there was a knock on the room door and a muffled voice coming out from behind it.

"Hey! Girls! Are you up yet? Where's the food? I'm hungry!" It was Inuyasha. Other manly mumblings were heard from the others, who were also on the other side of the door of the suite. Mumblings like,

"Can we go in?" and "Is it open?" and "I wonder if they're getting dressed?" and "Shut up Miroku!" and "Just turn that knob thing!" and "Don't tell me what to do wimpy wolf!" and "You take that back dog breath!" and "Make me!" and "Fine then I will!" and "Oh yeah?" and "Yeah!" and "be quiet or I'll silence you all with my poison claws." and "Muahahahaha!" and "That includes you Naraku."

There was the sound of the door opening and soon all the boys were filing into the room. They looked around and Inuyasha sniffed the air.

"They're in there." He said, pointing towards the kitchenette.

o

Kikyo stood, the centre of attention, as the girls _and _boys stared at her.

"Kikyo?" asked Naraku, and then he sniggered. "Hmhmhmhmhmh! What happened to your face? It's full of…brown stuff! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" he bent over laughing. Sesshoumaru looked as though bored of the situation but continued staring anyway and Kouga was rolling around on the floor with his arms around his middle. Miroku chuckled softly and Inuyasha was unsure of whether to laugh or to help clean Kikyo up. All the girls were giggling and Kikyo became angry at them all.

"What? Is this like a show for you or something? How pathetic!" She scoffed.

"I guess we have a different view on what's pathetic Kikyo!" Gasped Naraku as he fought to stay on his feet and not collapse onto the floor to laugh. Kikyo narrowed her eyes at him.

Kagome gasped for air and held her tummy tightly as she tried to calm down, Sesshoumaru grew tired of the situation and walked out of the kitchenette to wait in the living room of the suite where he stood facing the window, occasionally throwing harsh glares over his shoulder at the childish bunch.

Kagome controlled herself at last and proceeded to provide a piece of vital information,

"Um, Kikyo?" she asked.

"What?" said Kikyo harshly, crossing her rather sticky arms.

"Remember me telling you how the food in my era was different from the food in yours?" Kagome asked her. Kikyo snorted and held her head high.

"pfft! I am dead, what could happen to me?" She laughed.

And as if answering her question, loud rumblings sounded and they seemed to be coming from her stomach. Kikyo's eyes widened in surprise.

"What the-"

RUMBLEGRKSQUISHGURGLE!

Kikyo clutched her tummy and lifted a hand to her mouth, her face turning, if it was even possible, paler by the minute. Naraku ceased to laugh and stared. He slowly lifted a finger to point at her.

"Hey, I think she's getting what I got in the meeneeboos!" he cried gleefully. And once again, everyone fell about laughing. Kagome bit her lip, she didn't really like Kikyo that much, but at that very moment it looked like she needed a bit of help.

Kikyo's stomach lurched horribly and she quickly covered her mouth as she let out a loud burp. She moaned and hiccupped and soon she felt a burning sensation coming up her throat making her eyes pop out. She needed a place to rid herself of the sourness and she needed it NOW.

So she decided to try and find it by running around in circles. This made everybody laugh harder, Naraku had tears coming out of his eyes and was rolling around on the floor and occasionally beating it with his fists. Kikyo ran round and round frantically seeking one of those washrooms that Kagome girl had explained to them. Kagome felt so sorry for Kikyo so she waited until she passed her and grabbed her by the shoulders, pushing her out the door of the kitchenette and spinning her in the direction of the suite's bathroom. Kagome let go of Kikyo's shoulders and Kikyo dashed immediately into the bathroom and it was a good thing the toilet seat was up because there wouldn't have been enough time to lift it as Kikyo hurled everything she had eaten into the toilet water. Kagome quietly closed the bathroom door as the crowd gathered to try and sneek a peek at the sick Kikyo.

"um, she'll be alright" Kagome said. _Bleuuurrgh! Heave! Pantpantpant, bhaaack! Huuuuuurrgh! _ Came the muffled sounds from the other side of the door.

Half an hour later Kikyo emerged from the bathroom, her face sweaty and drawn.

"I am never eating anything again." She mumbled. Kagome had gotten dressed in that half an hour and so had Sango and was ready to go and have breakfast.

"Kikyo, I'm going to take everyone downstairs to the dining hall, you can stay here and get ready since you won't feel like eating, okay?" she said amiably. Kikyo threw her a dirty look and plopped onto her bed, groaning. Kagome shrugged.

"Okay then guys lets go, just follow me and avoid wandering off because I know full well what you can get up to." She told them, wagging a finger at them all.

"c'mon Kagome let's go already!" snapped Inuyasha.

"Okay, okay!" said Kagome defensively. She opened the door and waited for them to file out of the suite and when they all did she shut the door, leaving Kikyo inside.

She began to walk in the direction of the staircase but stopped and turned to face Miroku.

"Miroku, did you lock your room door?" Kagome asked. Miroku slapped his forehead.

"Agh, no, I forgot. Just wait a moment, Kagome-sama, I'll go and-" he started.

"No, that's alright, gimme the keys and let me do it." Said Kagome, holding out her hand to receive the keys. "Just stay here all of you, be right back." Kagome made her way along the corridor and spotted the only room with the door open and walked towards it, the keys jingling in her hand. She grabbed the knob to close the door but stole a peek inside the room before doing so, letting out a loud gasp and dropping the keys. Sango turned her head at the sound and peered curiously at Kagome.

"What's wrong Kagome?" Sango asked. Kagome pointed a shaking finger towards the room.

"What the hell did they do?" Cried Kagome.

There were pillows and blankets strewn around on the floor, the mattresses were overturned, there were stains of who knows what on the fancy Persian rugs and rubbish was littered about on the beds and the bathroom was a complete mess. Kagome shook her head, refusing to believe what she was seeing, this would be difficult to explain to room service. She slammed the door shut and stomped towards the stairs, the others following her, careful to keep at least a two metre distance away from the angry miko.

"How the HELL did they manage to make all that MESS? Jeez, you'd think they were animals or something from the way they act! Ugh! Men!" she muttered furiously. The men in question were looking at each other nervously as if they didn't know what they had done to the suite was indeed deplorable.

They were let downstairs by Kagome to the dining hall, where they were just in time for the "Continental breakfast", some western thing. Kagome searched for a table with enough seats and when she found one, she moodily told them to sit at it. They did as they were told without complaints. Kagome stood at the head of the table and put both hands upon it.

"Now, let me explain what you have to do, each of you, ONE BY ONE will walk up to those glass container thingies where the food is, grab a tray and choose what you want to eat for breakfast, then you return to THIS TABLE and eat it, okay?" explained Kagome harshly. Upon seeing the looks of confusion on each of their faces, she sighed in exasperation and threw her hands up into the air.

"Fine! Wait here and I'LL bring the food!" she cried as she flounced off. Miroku patted Inuyasha's shoulder sympathetically. Inuyasha blinked at him.

"Whaddya doin' that for?" asked Inuyasha loudly. Miroku sighed.

"I feel sorry for you Inuyasha, you have to be with Kagome ALL DAY LONG."

Inuyasha's eye twitched at the realization and gulped. Kagome came back shortly after balancing two trays full of food with both hands and setting them down carefully on the table. Everyone, except Sesshoumaru, fought for the bread rolls and fried eggs and bacon and stuffing their faces with them. Kagome nibbled her toast neatly and Sango sipped her tea quietly as the others snorted, burped and gobbled, unaware that they were being watched by the entire hotel as they ate.

When they were finished, Kagome went to fetch Kikyo, who still groaned and hiccupped, and let them out of the Yoru hotel. Kagome waved to the hotel clerk who hid behind his desk when Sesshoumaru came into view. They walked for ten minutes and finally reached Tippytoes dance academy, Kagome glanced at her watch, it was 11am. They entered through the big wooden doors and found themselves once again at reception, they organised themselves into pairs and split up, each to their own dance room, where they would be spending the rest of that morning with their teachers, practicing away.

A/N: I didn't think I would take a whole chapter writing about the morning at the hotel, I was planning on including a few other things but I guess they'll have to wait. Thanks for the reviews everyone your encouragement means a lot! Keep reading and reviewing!


	17. Break Time

Hi everyone! Thank you for all your reviews Kei-Ookami.kara.mori, Kiwi-San, darkdemon3592, Cela Andromeda, coolmarauders and ranchan23! Haven't got much to say at the moment so I'm just going to get going with the chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my loyal kyuuketsuki bats and I will command them to do some serious damage to anyone who dares imply that I own Inuyasha! Okay, I got carried away.

**Chapter 17: Break Time**

Inuyasha plonked down onto the polished wooden floor panting and sweating. Annie shook her head at him.

"We've only been at it for twenty minutes and you're tired already! C'mon, we only have a week to get this right!" Annie told him. Kagome wiped the sweat from her forehead, dancing was hard. Annie sighed and held out her hand for Inuyasha to grab hold of and helped him up onto his feet, then she went over to the stereo and played the CD again. She swivelled round and took her position in front of them.

"Okay, now remember it's step, step, turn, step, step, kick, step, turn, step, jump and crouch, got it?" Inuyasha and Kagome looked at each other nervously. They nodded.

"Good! so starting positions…no Inuyasha, you stand to her right…Kagome, keep your chin up please and try not to slouch…remember you two it's not just the moves, it's the presentation as well so you must look your best and feel the enthusiasm!" Annie said energetically as she bounced on the spot as the music started.

"Alright…one and two and three and four…!"

Annie demonstrated each of the moves with her back to them, so as not to confuse them with lefts and rights, occasionally glancing at the both of them to see how they were doing.

Kagome muttered to herself, "step and step and turn and step and step and kick and- OOOOOWWW! INUYASHA!" Kagome screamed, rubbing her shin from her position on the floor. Annie whipped round to see what the problem was and found and angered Kagome on the floor, rubbing her leg and an anxious looking Inuyasha peering to see if he had done any serious damage. He looked up at Annie with look of shame on his face.

"I kicked left instead of right." He mumbled. Annie forgave him because they were only just starting with the presentation for the contest and they needed a lot of help with it.

She helped Kagome up and asked if she was alright. Kagome shook her leg around a bit then nodded her head. Annie breathed in deeply as she played the music again and took her usual position.

"Now, let's start again…"

o-

"OW! OW! OW!" Kouga yelled. He tried to wriggle out but to no avail. Ayame squeaked with pain each time she moved.

Sean stood in front of them with a hand on his face, and shook his head at the tangled up pair.

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! UNTANGLE US!" Kouga roared. Ayame nodded in agreement. Sean sighed heavily and began pulling their legs out of the knot they had somehow tied themselves into.

"oi know that this dance may seem a little complicated, but oi asshure ye that yez will get it in the end. Don't worry 'bout a thing!" Sean said cheerfully as he managed to pull out Ayame from under Kouga. "There! Now let's start again and this toime, NO coiclone wind thingies." He glared severely at Kouga, who crossed his arms angrily and turned away.

Ayame giggled and blushed, she had finally gotten as close to Kouga as she had wanted and it felt niiiice…

o-

"No, no, no, NO! Señor that is not the way to hold the señorita!" Screamed Lorenzo in an exasperated manner. He stomped towards the stereo and rewound the tape, then played it. He stomped back to Sango and Miroku as they stared at him wide eyed.

Lorenzo brusquely pulled Miroku away from Sango and made him observe him.

"Yourrrr hand is too low down! It's not like that! It's like…this," Lorenzo said, demonstrating by gently placing a hand on the small of Sango's back and took her other hand. Sango felt a shiver down her spine, and immediately flushed tomato red. Miroku's face was of a similar colour but with a totally different expression.

Lorenzo led as he and Sango danced the few steps learnt that morning and Miroku watched jealously, wondering why Sango hadn't slapped the stupid man already. Maybe it was because he hadn't groped her… Miroku watched them and began to contemplate that last thought.

o-

"ARE YOU ESTUPIDO? IT'S NOT STEP, STEP, TURN! IT'S STEP, TURN STEP! BEGIN AGAIN!" Lola bellowed deafeningly.

"Right away ma'am!" Naraku squeaked, bowing various times. Kikyo took the fingers out of her ears and opened her eyes.

Lola breathed heavily through her nose as she played the music again and stood beside the two, watching their every move. She had demonstrated the steps once and had left them to learn them, memorise them and perform them by themselves…it was her way of teaching.

"Again, again! Estoy esperando! Muévanse ya! I'm waiting! Move it!" Lola shouted, clapping her hands loudly as if to wake them up.

This time both Kikyo and Naraku bowed and took their starting positions, cringing as they made contact with each other's skin. ((I'm only talking about their hands, jeez!)).

Step, turn, step…

o-

Fleur nodded as they performed the steps successfully, well not completely but well enough for beginners.

Kagura felt extremely uncomfortable about being so close to Sesshoumaru and it wasn't because of having to be so near to his body, and a well toned, muscular body at that, no, it was because she always found herself stepping on his foot and she hated herself for it, cursing her inelegance.

"zat's it, now step, two, zree, step, two, zree…" purred Fleur.

Kagura glanced at her and then up at Sesshoumaru. She heard a sharp intake of breath and realised that she had crushed his foot…yet again.

Fleur stopped the count and pranced up to them on her tiptoes.

"non, non, non! I know why you are flattening his foot so often Mademoiselle. You don't lead, let him. And don't place your hand so low down his arm; it should go on his shoulder…like so, oui?" Fleur told Kagura, taking her hand and placing it on Sesshoumaru's broad shoulder. Kagura felt her face grow hot.

"Zere, and Monsieur, your right hand must not be so high up her back," Fleur explained, tiptoeing over to his side and taking his hand, brought it lower down leaving it to rest on Kagura's waist. He said nothing but was secretly observing the perfect ness of Kagura's womanly figure. Kagura flushed crimson as she become aware of how warm his hand was. And how good it felt.

Fleur pranced off and played the music again. Kagura cleared her throat. Fleur looked up.

"Oui?"

"I think we should take a break." Kagura said. Fleur threw her head back and guffawed.

"Hahahahaha! A break! Hahahahaha!" Fleur laughed. She frowned immediately after. "non." She said coldly. Kagura fumed. She turned to Sesshoumaru and found him heading towards the door.

Fleur also noticed. "Excusez moi Monsieur, just where do you zink you are going?" She inquired sternly.

Sesshoumaru didn't look back at her as he opened the door, "that's enough dancing for now." He replied just as harshly. This time Fleur fumed and Kagura grinned as she followed Sesshoumaru out of the room.

o-

There were moans and groans coming from the academy's cafeteria as the learners all rubbed their sore body parts and complained about their teachers.

Naraku had his head on top of his arms and was resting on the table, his shoulders occasionally heaving.

"She's so MEAN! I thought no one was meaner than me!" He cried, his voice muffled. Kagura patted his arm in a futile attempt to comfort him.

Kagome once again, was getting the food for them and had come back with four trays full of it. She carefully laid everything on the three tables they had joined together and she rubbed her hands eagerly.

"Okay! Let's eat!" She cried.

They all stared at the food, insure of whether to eat it or destroy it, or in Naraku's case, absorb it. Kagome, taking a bite from her burger, saw the puzzled looks and giggled.

"Don't worry guys, all of this is edible. Apart from the plates." She added as a precaution. She heard sighs and then appreciative mumbles as they all began helping themselves.

Sango had a salad, just to be on the safe side and was munching on it happily, and Miroku picked up a hotdog, examining it carefully.

"Kagome-sama, may I ask what this is?"

"Oh, that's a hot dog." She said between mouthfuls. Miroku's eyes widened. He looked at the hotdog, then at Inuyasha, then at the hotdog, then at Inuyasha. He put the hotdog back on the plate and served himself some salad instead.

Inuyasha was stuffing everything he could into his mouth, as was Kouga. Kouga also picked up a hotdog after hearing what Kagome had said it was. He sniffed it and grinned.

"Hey dog breath!" He shouted to Inuyasha who was sitting opposite, "This dog smells better than you do!" and he laughed, taking a bite out of it.

Inuyasha growled and had started to get up but Kagome pulled him back down. "Eat and behave!" she told him strictly. Inuyasha glowered at the laughing Kouga, but sat back down and resumed stuffing his face.

Kikyo refused to even touch the food, she remembered what happened earlier that morning and wasn't willing to go through that again. She ignored Naraku's taunts and turned away when he waved a hamburger in front of him, as he sat on the opposite her at the table.

Ayame bit into some chicken pie and chewed, savouring the taste. It was much better than what she was used to. She turned her head and observed Kouga as he gobbled up his food and she sighed dreamily when bits of food flew out of his mouth.

Kagura examined the fries in front of her, picking one up and holding it close to her face, sniffing it. She slowly brought it to her mouth and nibbled on it. _Mmmm, this actually tastes good! _She thought and finished it, choosing another one and gobbling it up as well.

"These are great!" She turned to the person next to her, "Have you tried these? they're delicious-" She stopped abruptly realising that the person next to her was Sesshoumaru. He blinked at her.

"I do not eat human food, unlike some." He said icily. Kagura shrugged.

"Suit yourself." She said and wolfed down her fries.

Naraku grew tired of annoying Kikyo, and his arm was getting sore from waving the hamburger around, so he decided to finally eat it. But first he studied it warily, in case it was a demon in disguise wanting to absorb him. Satisfied that there was no such demon he brought it to his lips and bit into it with such force that all that was wedged between the buns shot out and hit Kikyo square in the face with a SPLAT!

The cafeteria became silent. Kikyo stood up slowly and peeled the tomato, onions, cheese and meat off her face and closed her fist around them tightly, squishing them together. Her bangs covered her face.

"…Naraku…" She said dangerously, lifting up her fist shakily, the fist that held the squished up burger filling and aiming it carefully at Naraku.

Naraku sat glued to his chair, aware that all eyes were on him. He gulped.

"Uh oh…"

A/N: Heeheehee! I bet you all know what will happen next! Please read and review people and don't forget, I love you all! And if you don't review my bats will be after you. Hehehe just joking! Hehehe…(laughs nervously). Sorry. My next chapter; chapter 18: Food Fight!


	18. Food Fight!

Let me just say one thing. I hate power outs. Sorry for the wait Sessy15001514, lady-kagome84, Lady Kagewaki (thanks for the motivation!), Kracken l.w (how did you know?), Viperthe strange (your reviews make me laugh so much! And ok, I'll get someone to throw a piece of cheese for you.), ranchan23, death88, kagomemaster94 (I live in Colombia. No Amanda show. Though I have seen it in England a couple of times but it was aaaaages ago, I can't remember it now.), Female SSBM Fan, Cela Andromeda and Neko Jer. Thanks a lot you guys! Here's the chapter you've been waiting for!

Disclaimer: Do you like bats? No? Then don't ask me if I own Inuyasha.

**Chapter 18: Food Fight!**

It was as if everything was moving in slow motion.

Kikyo, with all the strength she could muster, threw the squishy burger filling straight at Naraku's head and everyone held their breath, except Kagura, who seemed to be enjoying the fact that Naraku would get hit.

Naraku saw the filling fly closer and closer to his face, he was frozen to the spot, but he managed to protect himself with one of his barriers just in time. The burger filling bounced of the surface of the barrier and landed with a plop onto the floor.

"Hahahahahahaha! Didn't hit me!" Naraku jeered. Everyone went back to their food upon seeing that there wouldn't be any action, and began eating noisily once again. Kikyo, however, refused to calm herself into submission and she shook with irrepressible anger. Images of everything that had happened to her popped up in her head, Her capture, the pole, the pairing up with the idiot who now sat opposite her laughing manically, the throwing up… she was just about cheesed off with the whole situation. So to match her mood, she grabbed a large piece of cheese from a plate and tested its weight; she lifted her arm and hurled it in Naraku's direction.

Naraku was still laughing away, "Hahahaha- EH?" Spotting the big piece of cheese coming his way, Naraku speedily put up his barrier once again and the cheese ricocheted off it, but this time hitting Kouga on the side of his head.

"OOOOOW! WHAT THE-" yelled Kouga, rubbing his head and angrily looking for whoever had thrown the cheese. Naraku was laughing his butt off at Kikyo's failed attempt to hit him and didn't notice Kouga glaring furiously in his direction. Kouga growled and seized his half eaten hotdog and threw it, mustard and all, at Naraku, but it merely bounced off his now permanent barrier, hitting Inuyasha smack on the nose.

Inuyasha became livid. "WHY YOU-!" He grabbed the nearest doughnut and hurled it at Kouga, who quickly ducked, and Ayame received a face full of the jam filled dessert. She stood up angrily and reached for her chicken pie and flung it at Inuyasha, but Kagome pushed him out of the way. The chicken pie flew past and landed with a splat against the wall.

"Hey! Stop throwing food at Inuyasha!" yelled Kagome at Ayame. Inuyasha picked himself off the floor and gave an angry glare at Kouga who returned it with similar fierceness.

"Then you'd better tell him to quit chucking food at Kouga, bitch!" Ayame screamed back. Kagome became enraged.

"Was that a threat?" Kagome screeched.

"It sure as hell was!" Ayame shrieked. Kagome was beside herself with rage and got hold of some mashed potato, while a furious Ayame grabbed a peeled banana and both girls threw what they had in their hands at each other. Kagome dropped to the ground and the banana hit Sango on the shoulder. Ayame ducked and the mashed potato flew past her and onto Naraku's barrier, where it bounced off and landed on Kikyo's head. Kagome gulped. Ooops. Kikyo glowered at Kagome and her mash potato filled hand. She picked up an apple pie and lobbed it Kagome's way. Sango shakily put down her fork and peeled the now squashed banana off her shoulder, took a handful of her salad and tossed it at Ayame.

Inuyasha screamed Kagome's name and caught the apple pie that zoomed towards her, throwing it back at a surprised Kikyo, who bent down making him miss her. But it didn't miss entirely. Kagura stood up abruptly, her chair scraping back, and she angrily unpeeled the apple pie from her forehead.

"Why you stupid-" She snarled, reaching out for some brownies and flung them at Inuyasha.

There was chaos in the cafeteria.

Food was being thrown in all directions, no sides were taken, it was each for his own. There were shrieks, yells, battle cries, swearing, and maniacal laughter from Naraku's part since he was the only one with protection. Miroku didn't involve himself in the food fight, he being a holy man and a pacifist at that. Sesshoumaru simply sat and observed them all with a bored expression, occasionally flicking his energy whip here and there at stray bits of airborne food that got too close to his impeccable person.

"TAKE THIS JERK!"

"YOU ARE SOOOO GONNA PAY FOR THAT!"

"HEY LOOK THIS WAY!...HAHA! GOTCHA!"

"NO FAIR! I WASN'T READY!"

"EEEEEW! THAT WAS SQUISHY!"

"CRRRAAAAAAAAAAP! MY EYEEEE!YOU HIT MY EYE! TAKE THAT BASTARD!"

"MUAHAHAHAHAAAA!"

Sango grabbed food with both hands and flung it in all directions; she seized a burger bun and was just about to hurl it when another piece of flying cheese knocked it right out of her hand. SPLAT! It landed on the side of Miroku's head. He stared at her in surprise. Sango gasped.

"I'm so sorry houshi-sama, I didn't mean-"

She glared angrily at him and at the stupid grin plastered on his face. SLAP! "Hentai!"

She got hold of a chocolate covered doughnut and smooshed it in his face. She 'humph'ed and continued throwing more food. Miroku put his finger in the chocolaty mess and placed it in his mouth.

"Mmmm! Delicious!"

Naraku was having the most fun there, his tentacles allowed him to throw many pieces of food in one go and at many unsuspecting people. What was even more enjoyable was the fact that no one could hit him back because his barrier was always up. Oh how he took pleasure in getting people mad. He frowned for a moment, picked up a cream pie and then grinned evilly, the only person he hadn't managed to hit was Sesshoumaru…

Sesshoumaru was getting extremely bored with the situation. He glanced at Kagura, she was covered in filthy human food and was acting just as badly as the others, what a poor excuse for a demoness. A large cream pie whizzed towards his face, but he calmly flicked his whip through it. However, one tiny, itty bitty, weeny speck of cream landed on his cheek. Rage whirled around inside him as he wiped the cream off his perfect face with one finger. He fought to keep his anger under control as he slowly rose up from his chair.

No one noticed the demon lord stand, they were much too busy yelling, screaming, throwing, and in Naraku's case, laughing to become aware of the piercing glares he was giving them.

Sesshoumaru had had enough. He slammed his hand upon the table, hard.

"Enough!" he bellowed

Everyone ceased and stared fearfully at the enraged demon lord, food dripping out of their lifted hands.

"I am disgusted with this juvenile behaviour. Never before have I seen such appalling conduct, and coming from _adults,_ if I am correct in saying so, since you are all acting too childishly for me to believe it. You _will _behave accordingly of your respective ages and I for one will not tolerate this type of situation repeating itself in my presence, have I made myself clear?" He said in a dangerously quiet tone.

They all hung their heads in shame and mumbled their 'yes's, slowly dropping the food from their hands. Naraku took down his barrier, sighing.

"Be grateful that I have spared each of your worthless lives." Sesshoumaru told them coldly.

Gulps were heard around the room, everybody plopped down into their chairs and did their best to tidy themselves up. Naraku sighed again, the fun was over but at least he had managed to hit-

SPLAT!

Naraku spluttered and wiped the cream from his eyes. All heads were turned towards Sesshoumaru, who didn't even seem to have moved at all. Sesshoumaru's lip quirked up slightly, then he turned and exited the cafeteria.

The heads turned back to Naraku. Inuyasha looked at Kouga and Kouga looked at Inuyasha, they both grinned as they thought the same thing. Inuyasha picked up some mashed potato and Kouga grabbed some soggy lettuce, and they both heaved it at a cream covered Naraku, who, being too occupied with wiping cream from his face, failed to notice the flying bits of food coming towards him.

SPLAT! SPLOOSH!

Naraku cried out in surprise, he tried to put up his barrier but failed. Everyone gave each other mischievous glances, grabbed whatever they could get their hands on and proceeded to launch what they had at a now defenceless Naraku.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Naraku screamed. He put his hands in front of his face vainly attempting to protect himself.

"KYAAAAAAAAA! THAT'S FOR HITTING ME IN THE FACE!" yelled Kikyo flinging doughnuts wildly.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! THIS IS FER….! EVERYTHING!" roared Inuyasha pelting Naraku with hotdogs.

"THIS IS FOR CONTROLLING MY HEART!" shrieked Kagura, violently smooshing a handful of marshmellows in Naraku's face.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! MY HAIR! NO NOT THE FACE!NOT THE FACE!" Naraku screeched loudly.

And so it continued.

Everyone managed to heap their revenge on the evil hanyou until they were exhausted. Inuyasha and Kouga continued tossing bits of food at Naraku feebly, both panting from fatigue. The filthy, sticky, slimy bunch collapsed back into their chairs, a few of them tittering weakly at the huge pile of food in which Naraku was currently buried.

Just then, light footsteps were heard approaching. The cafeteria doors swung open to reveal Mr Tippytoes, who gasped in shock at the sight of them.

"Goodneth, graciouth me!" He shrieked, putting both hands on his cheeks and lifting one foot up behind him as he jumped.

Kagome became frenzied, _oh no! He'll kick us out for sure! whatdoIdowhatdoIdo?_

She stood up shakily, "I am soooo sorry Mr Tippytoes, we didn't mean-" she began

"Now doethn't thith look fun!" He squealed excitedly. Kagome gawped at him in disbelief.

"Can I join in?" He asked keenly. Kagome pulled herself together.

"Erm… we've finished I'm afraid." Kagome said anxiously. Mr Tippytoes seem evidently disappointed.

"Oh. Never mind, another time then. Now let'th get you out of thothe filthy clotheth, you've all got three hourth of danthing left for today!" he exclaimed.

Kagome looked around nervously at the mess they'd made of the cafeteria. Mr Tippytoes noticed this and snapped his fingers.

"Don't worry, Dorith will clean up here! Oh Doriiiiiith!" he called out.

Doris arrived at the scene and after understanding what her task was to be, she almost died of a heart attack.

"Come now everyone, follow meeeee!" sang Mr Tippytoes. The grimy bunch trudged along after him grumbling at how they smelt.

Doris was left in the cafeteria. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, her eyes wide open in disbelief. What a mess! She slowly traipsed off to find her cleaning materials, mumbling to herself.

Out from under the vast pile of food came a muffled voice.

"Uh, hello?...Aren't you forgetting someone?" Said Naraku in a stifled tone of voice.

His hand appeared from beneath the mashed potato and he waved it about weakly.

"Don't leave me here!" he cried, he added in a quieter tone, "I don't like the dark! Sob!"

Doris came back in with her mop and rag and began scrubbing at the walls, ignoring the sobbing pile of food as she concentrated on torturing Mr Tippytoes in her head.

A/N: I finally finished this chapter! The power went out in my area for 1 DAY AND A HALF! I hate thunderstorms! Anyway, please read and review, I'm serious about the bats. There are actually two bats that come out at night around my house, I call the biggest one Van and the smallest Pyre (dead original, that's me!) but they're not ready to submit to my commands just yet. Oh well.


	19. Naraku's Revenge

Hello again! My life is boring so there's nothing else I can write here. Thank you beloved reviewers; The Squabbit, Lady Kagewaki (hahahaha! Your reviews make me laugh. I don't think my bats will ever DARE dive bomb me, will you Van? Will you Pyre? Hmmmm? YES, OBEY YOUR GREAT MASTER! MUAHAHAHAHAA! Sorry, it seems I have received sunlight or garlic at some point), Kiwi-San , coolmarauders, Kei-Ookami.kara.mori, lalalalala2, ranchan23 (you are sooooo lucky not to have experienced a thunderstorm like the one I had to live through! And what was worse, was that I was working in Confenalco Computer learning Centre, I have a job there, on Saturdays. And all the power went out! It was so daaaaark!...Bat persuading hmm? I'll think about it.), Viperthe strange (hahahahaha! I love your craziness!) Sessy15001514, Cela Andromeda and SlyCooperFan. Keep reviewing guys!

Disclaimer: Why do I need Inuyasha when I have my KYUUKETSUKI BATS! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAaaaaa…ooooh I'm pathetic.

**Chapter 19: Naraku's Revenge**

Kagome traipsed along with the others as Mr Tippytoes guided them towards the washrooms where they were to get cleaned up. Sesshoumaru was nowhere to be found and no one volunteered to go and look for him. As they went past reception, Kagome became aware of the stares coming from the academy's staff and from some of the pupils. She sighed and lowered her gaze, catching whiffs of food wafting from her own clothes and hair.

_Jeez, I stink! I smell of mashed potato and…I don't even know what the fuck that is! _Gasp! Kagome scolded herself mentally. _There's no way I just thought the 'f' word! Stupid Inuyasha, I must be catching it from him. I need to find a way to get him to stop all that damn cursing! Great! I did it again! _

Kagome furrowed her brow as she fought down the urge to swear out loud.

"nnnnnexcuse me miss, are you Kagome Higurashi?" came a familiar nasal voice.

Kagome turned and spotted the receptionist who held the phone in her hand and had a slightly annoyed expression on her face. Kagome and the group and neared the reception desk, Mr Tippytoes decided to wait for them.

"Yes I am, what is it?" Kagome asked. The receptionist let out a bored sigh and held out the phone to her.

"You have a call. Don't take long please, I'm extremely busy." She said, sitting down and beginning to file her nails.

_I'm sure you are_, Kagome thought irritably. She took the phone and held it up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello dear, are you alright? You didn't come home last night so I got a little worried, is everything okay?" came the voice of Mrs Higurashi.

"Oh mum! I had completely forgotten to call you! Sorry!" Kagome said apologetically.

"I found the number of the dance academy by the phone so I thought I'd call and see."

"I'm so sorry! Well, we were given rooms in the Yoru Hotel because of the large amount of money we paid that helped the Academy with their funding for the competition. We were granted a week's stay so don't expect us to be going home during that time 'kay?" Kagome said.

"Oh right. Is the competition going to be held there?"

"Yep. There's a huge ballroom on the ground floor." Kagome explained. Just then, she heard a high pitched shriek in the background. "Mum, what was that?"

"No Hakudoushi no!" Mrs Higurashi's agitated voice sounded, away from the phone.

"Mum?" Kagome asked anxiously.

"I'm alright dear. These children have a lot of energy don't they?" Mrs Higurashi panted.

"Mmm yeah, well-"

"Nooo! Put that down! Put it down I say! Shippou, get that out of your mouth at once!" Her mum yelled. "Hello Kagome!" Shippou shouted through the phone. Mrs Higurashi scolded him.

"Hakudoushi! That's very expensive!" There was a noise that sounded like glass shattering.

"mum?" Kagome enquired worriedly.

Inuyasha could hear every word spoken and wondered how one woman could deal with four kids when three of them weren't even human.

"What's going on?" said a deep, irritated voice. Kagome held the phone away from her ear just as piercing battle cries and deafening clangs and crashes sounded in the background. Mrs Higurashi was screeching at Kanna and Hakudoushi to stop the saucepan fight.

"Oh, Naraku, it's you. You made it out alright I hope?" asked Kagome suppressing a giggle. Naraku narrowed his eyes at her and a glob of cream slid down his cheek.

"Ha-ha, very funny. Now can someone tell me what's going on?" Naraku asked crossly.

He heard a shriek coming from the strange wand on a string that Kagome held in her hand.

"What was that?" He asked her. Kagome gingerly put the phone close to her ear.

"Hakudoushi and Kanna, fighting with saucepans and spatulas apparently." Kagome replied, once again holding the phone at an arm's length as more screams rang out.

Naraku's eyes widened.

"Okay mum, I have to go now." Kagome said loudly, taking care not to put the phone too close to her ear.

"What? Oh, alright then. Be careful dear and remember not to-STOP! THAT IS NOT A TOY!" Mrs Higurashi shrieked. There was a 'slam!' and all Kagome heard next was the dialling tone.

"Mum? Hello? Hello?"

Kagome shrugged lightly and placed the phone back on it's hook, ignoring the receptionist's glares and joined Mr Tippytoes as he began to lead them to the washrooms.

"So?" Naraku enquired.

"Well, Hakudoushi and Kanna are doing a wonderful job of destroying my house and giving my mother cause to have a nervous breakdown, but other than that, everything's fine!" cried Kagome, wringing her hands. "My poor Mummy!" she sobbed. Inuyasha patted her shoulder awkwardly, he was no good with these kinds of situations.

"Aw, c'mon Kagome, it can't be that bad!" Inuyasha told her.

"Yes it is! HIS KIDS ARE DESTROYING MY FUCKING HOUSE!" she screamed, pointing an accusing finger at Naraku. Inuyasha jumped back in surprise and everyone, including Mr Tippytoes, gasped. Naraku, on the other hand wiped away a tear and sniffed.

"I'm so proud of them! They have followed in my footsteps!" he sobbed happily. "Unlike some." He mumbled glowering at Kagura who merely rolled her eyes.

"Kagome," Inuyasha said with wide eyes, "You just swore…THAT'S SO FUCKING COOL!" he yelled happily.

"Osuwari!"

SPLACK!

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FER?" Inuyasha yelled.

"Osuwari!"

BASH!

"QUIT IT!"

"Not until you stop cursing! It's no wonder I've started doing it, I'm getting it from YOU! The next time you swear, I WILL say the word and you WILL experience a lot of pain!" Kagome shouted angrily.

"Ok!" Inuyasha squeaked.

Mr Tippytoes cleared his throat. Kagome whirled around and regained her composure.

"Okay, so where are the washrooms?"

Ooo

After they got changed they split up and went to their dance classes. Kagome was still in a foul mood and didn't even say hello to Annie when she entered the room with Inuyasha. Annie was surprised at the change in the normally sweet, enthusiastic girl and failed to notice Inuyasha's hand before closing the door upon it and squishing it.

Inuyasha screamed bloody murder and Annie immediately wrenched the door open, freeing his poor, throbbing hand, apologising profusely. Not that Inuyasha took any notice. He frantically waved his hand about, then shoved it under his armpit and hopped around on one foot. He began to howl,

"OH SHIIIIIIiiii," He spotted the homicidal expression on Kagome's face, "iiiiiiver me timbers!" he continued to jump around and clamped his mouth shut to prevent himself from saying anything. Kagome flounced off in a huff and sat down on a chair, crossing her arms.

Annie backed away cautiously in order to give the pair time to calm down, and began organising her stack of CDs.

Ooo

"And just wherrre have you two been?" Lola enquired sharply, her hands on her hips.

"Um-" began Kikyo.

"Stop wasting my time! More practising!" she barked. Kikyou and Naraku glanced at each other whilst Lola played the music.

"STARTING POSITIONS!" Lola yelled.

Kikyo and Naraku speedily found their places and began performing the dance sequence they had learnt earlier that day.

THUD!

"Oooow!" Kikyo groaned, rubbing her backside, and glared angrily at Naraku for dropping her.

"Ooops! Sorry! I didn't-"

"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! YOU ARRRE NOT SUPPOSED TO DRRROP HERRR YOU IMBECIL! DIOS MIO! WHY MUST I PUT UP WITH SUCH AN INCOMPETENT FOOL! YOU ARRRE HOPELESS!" Lola bellowed.

Naraku was absolutely gob-smacked. Even Kikyo looked shocked. He fought the urge to go and cry in a corner; instead he let himself get angry at this stupid dance teacher lady. He had never been told something like that, he, who had prided himself in his sly and cunning ways. This Naraku wasn't about to tolerate a weak human's reprimand, noooo, it was time she got to know who was boss.

"What did you just say to me?" Naraku said in a dangerously quiet tone, his eyes were hidden by his bangs.

"YOU HEARRRD ME! OR ARE YOU AN INCOMPETENT _AND_ DEAF FOOL?" she screeched.

Naraku clenched his fists and shook visibly with anger. Kikyo floated away into a closet where she would be safe. He glowed with demonic energy and pulsed repeatedly; he rose up into the air and was surrounded in purple miasma, his deep voice resonating around the room.

"Foolish human, you have no idea who I really am…" and he laughed evilly

Lola wasn't the kind to get scared easily, but at that moment, Naraku's creepy voice and even creepier laugh made the hairs on her arm stand on end.

There was an explosion of demonic energy and where Naraku had been floating now stood the form of a colossal spider with huge, glowing red eyes, thrashing around the room and roaring deafeningly. This was about as much as Lola could take, she had a profound fear of spiders and this one was no exception. She let out an ear-splitting scream and fell to the floor hugging her knees and shaking uncontrollably.

Naraku transformed back into his human form and chuckled as he approached the trembling dance teacher.

"Hm hm hm hm…I will practise for the competition but I don't ever, EVER want to hear another insult from your weak human mouth, for I am the great Naraku…I insult people damn it! Understood?" He asked her harshly.

Lola nodded shakily.

"Good. Now, where were we?" said Naraku in a cheerful tone.

Lola walked unsteadily over to the stereo to play the music and Kikyo stuck her head out of the closet to see if all was clear, and upon seeing that it was, floated out and took up her position in front of a satisfied looking Naraku.

"Ahh! Revenge is sweet!" he sighed.

A/N: Okay, I must admit, I felt sorry for Naraku because everything happens to him. He needed a break! You guys agree with me right? Riiight? (author looks around expectantly) sob! Anyway, please read and review! And if you don't, then I hope your blood type is A positive because that's the tastiest. Thanks!


	20. Practice Makes Perfect

Two weeks of exams, over! I'm so hahahahahappyyyy! Sob! I appreciate all the support Sakurablossomskxk, Kei-Ookami.kara.mori, SlyCooperFan, death88 (hehe, psychic, psycho), ranchan23 (:grins evilly: I know where _everyone _lives! Muahahahaa!), The Squabbit, Viperthe strange (YES! EXAMS ARE EEEEEVIIIIL! Kyuu-san? Hmmmm…I like!) Kracken l.w., Sessy15001514, Lady Kagewaki, FEMALEinuyasha14, coolmarauders, Kiwi-San, KagomeOf2005, electricdragon. Sorry for the wait. As well as the exams, I had to pay ol' batman a visit, he's a close friend of mine, so he could return my bats. I had sent them to him for his movie and I think they acted pretty well. Anyway, onto the chapter!

Disclaimer: NOOOOO! Keep the garlic away from meeeee! Alright I'll admit it! I don't own Inuyasha! Hisssssss!

**Chapter 19: Practice Makes Perfect**

Sesshoumaru stood on the roof of the academy, the rays of the afternoon sun shone upon him, giving his body a god-like appearance.

He was deep in thought. He hated to admit it, but he was concerned about Rin's wellbeing even though Jaken was there to protect her, along with Aun. But what if something_ were_ to happen to her? He knew Jaken was useless at everything that wasn't grovelling and how many times had Rin run off while in his care?

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes. At least Naraku was here with the rest, it would be one less thing to keep a look out for but what of the other demons, the filthy lesser demons that liked to feed on human flesh? Jaken better be looking after her properly, or he'll have one angry taiyoukai to answer to. Sesshoumaru suppressed a grin at the thought of the kind of punishments he would hand out to the bothersome toad. The wind played with his hair, and he turned to face the direction in which it blew. Anyone on the street looking up at the dance academy would have probably mistaken him for an angel or fainted on the spot. Sesshoumaru looked down at himself and picked at a bit of fluff that had landed on his t-shirt. He fought the urge to cry out in disgust at the horrendous clothing he had been provided with, it did not suit his style at all. He peered down at his shoes, they weren't even shoes, they were sneakers. It had taken him ages to find out how to tie the laces and of course, he asked for no help, he thought it beneath him.

He stayed on the roof a few minutes more before getting bored and leaping down onto a window ledge; he opened the window and let himself in. He walked along the corridor to find his dance room and when he did, he turned the knob of the door and entered.

Ooo

Fleur was filing her nails, wondering where her students had gotten to, they only had four days left to practice before the competition and there was a lot of work to be done. She was thinking of teaching them something a little more german, none of the latino stuff, she knew many people would be dancing that. Yes, german, and maybe a little Viennese. She couldn't wait to get started, she didn't know but there was something about the silver haired man that intrigued her, she saw the way he moved, it was as if he thought himself above everyone else. She and he were alike, she had to be superior to someone, it was who she was. Her thoughts wondered only to be interrupted by the door opening.

"Ah! Monsieur! I was wondering where you had gone, I- but where is mademoiselle?"

"Cleaning herself up." He replied with a hint of bitterness in his tone as he thought back to the unfortunate event in the cafeteria. Fleur raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Oh. No matter, you and I shall practice ze moves I taught you zis morning. You remember zem I hope?"

"Of course."

"Tres bien. Let's try wizout ze music, oui?"

Fleur took his hand and placed it around her waist and held his other hand in her own. She placed her left hand on his shoulder and inhaled deeply.

"Now, remember, how you begin is very important, if you start well you end well but it also can go wrong if you start wrong. Alright, your right foot goes forward, almost as if you're striding..." She explained. "No, bend ze knee more, back nice and straight, yes, zat's it…"

Fleur pressed her hand against his back to keep him in position.

Sesshoumaru had the right mind to kill her there where she stood for speaking to him as though he were an infant. How dare she mock the great Sesshoumaru!

Fleur herself was getting a bit flustered, this silent man had the most beautiful eyes ever, and his soft hair brushed across her hand every time he moved his body and what a body it was! Yet his face, a very handsome one, expressed no sentiment. She wondered what those peculiar markings were, the crescent moon and the stripes. Tattoos maybe?

"one two zree, one two zree…" she counted, her mouth getting drier by the minute. _ I might as well make the most of this! _She thought as she pushed herself closer against him.

Sesshoumaru looked down at her in disgust. _This human is attracted to me. Does she not know I can hear her heart beating faster or that I am able to detect the change in her scent? How revolting, she tries to take advantage of this closeness, but enough of this, I myself shall put an end to her miserable life…_

But before he could do anything, the door burst open and in barged Kagura, whose hair was slightly damp in it's bun from scrubbing the apple pie off. She stared at the two, her eyes wide in surprise.

Ooo

The first thing Kagura noticed when she entered the room was how close Fleur was to Sesshoumaru. She felt bubbling sensation in her chest. Jealousy?

_No, I'm not jealous, I'm probably getting indigestion from the modern food, yeah that's it, indigestion. Nope, not jealous at all, I mean why would I be? It's not as if I _like_ Sesshoumaru or anything, right?_

She spotted his hand on Fleur's waist and her hand on his shoulder. Kagura clenched her fists.

_Okay that's it, I'm jealous!_

She stormed up to the two of them and tore Fleur away from Sesshoumaru and pointed a finger in her face.

"Get away from him, he's mine!" She hissed.

"Excusez moi?" Fleur asked in shock. Kagura regretted the words that had come out of her mouth as soon as she said them. She turned to see Sesshoumaru who had an eyebrow raised at her questioningly.

"I beg your pardon wind sorceress?" He enquired almost amusedly.

"I-Uh, I meant to say…" Kagura stuttered, trying to find something to say. She whipped around to face Fleur again and poked her in the arm, "I meant stay away from him, he's my dance partner, yeah that's what I meant, and I believe you said at one point that _you_ were the teacher, didn't you? Well look here then Ms I'm-a-French-snob, I think teachers should concentrate on teaching and not taking other people's partners. Got that?" Kagura said menacingly.

Fleur scoffed and pranced off huffily to ready the stereo. Kagura shrugged and glanced casually in Sesshoumaru's direction. He was staring at her, with a hint of amusement in his eyes and it seemed as if he were expecting to hear something else. Kagura stared back at him.

"What?" she said gruffly.

"Hmph." He said before turning around to look at something else. Kagura sighed with relief and wiped a bead of sweat off her brow.

_Phew! Close! I have to thank the evil hanyou bastard for holding onto my heart, who knows how fast it would be beating right now, Sesshoumaru with his demon hearing and all._

And at the other side of the room, a taiyoukai silently cursed Naraku.

Ooo

Inuyasha had recovered from his little hand ordeal and was concentrating extra hard on his moves and on his language, especially with Kagome in such a foul mood. He took Kagome's hand with his bandaged one and on Annie's count, he thrust her up into the air by her waist. He held out his arms, ready for her descent.

"Great! Remember Inuyasha, concentrate on the moment you have to catch her!" Annie cried above the music, bouncing on the spot along with the beat.

"Huh? Did ya say somethin'!" yelled Inuyasha turning to look at her.

THUMP!

"Oooooow! Inuyasha! You were supposed to catch me!" shouted Kagome rubbing her butt, face red as a tomato.

"I-but, She, uh, you-" He gabbled, pointing at Annie, then at himself, then back at Annie. He looked thoroughly confused.

"Osuwari!"

SPLAT!

"Yeow! Kagome! I was distracted! You gotta believe me!"

Kagome got up from the floor and dusted herself off. She crossed her arms and stuck her chin up into the air.

"Sure you were distracted. You dropped me to get me back from saying the word after you swore!" She cried.

"What?" Inuyasha barked, leaping to his feet. "Actually, Annie was tellin' me something so I looked at her and I didn't see you come down, that's why I missed!"

"And why should I believe you?"

"Because it's true." Annie intervened. She got in between the quarrelling pair and tried to calm them down. "Now, why don't you settle aside your differences and continue with the presentation. We don't have a lot of time to practise."

"I refuse to dance with him. He'll only drop me again!" Argued Kagome.

"I said settle aside your differences damnit!" Annie yelled.

"Okay!"

Ooo

Kouga and Ayame were picking up quickly, Sean was proud of them; they had only practiced for two days.

It was Kouga's moment to step forward and perform his move. He kicked up with a bit too much force and pulled a muscle in his leg.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ow, ow, ow!" He cried out, hopping around and holding his injured leg. Ayame ran up to him to see if he was alright.

"Oh, Kouga! Are okay? Here, let me rub it for you…" She said soothingly as she reached out for his leg. Kouga slapped her hands away and snarled.

"Leave me wench! I'm not as weak as the mutt! I don't need your help!" he snapped. He plopped down onto the floor and tried to stretch his leg out. Sean stood there shaking his head and proceeded to turn the music off.

Ayame's eyes began to fill up with tears.

"I, I j-j-just w-wanted to h-help hic th-that's all!" She sobbed. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Eeeek! No wait Ayame I didn't mean- please don't cry!" Kouga pleaded, waving his hands about.

"Waaaaaaah!" She howled. Kouga grabbed his hair in frustration. He hated when women cried.

"Sh! Ayame! I-I'll, I'll let you rub my leg!" He cried in an attempt to shut her up.

Ayame stopped crying immediately and smiled. "Really? Okay!" she said happily and began to massage the sore muscle.

_Wow that was fast_, thought Kouga in disbelief.

Ooo

"Hentai!"

SLAP!

"Please señor, contrrrol yourrrself!" cried Lorenzo in exasperation.

"That's the problem, the stupid pervert can't!" said Sango angrily and she crossed her arms.

Miroku rubbed his cheek where the hand mark was imprinted and sighed.

"How dare disrrrespect the señorita and waste my prrrecious time ! If you do that again I'll hit you myself!" Lorenzo threatened.

Miroku gulped and nodded. He and Sango took their positions once again and Lorenzo played the music. Sango watched Miroku apprehensively as they performed their dance sequence. Miroku counted mentally and tried to stick to the rhythm.

At one point Miroku tripped over his own foot as he attempted to turn, and flung out his hand to grab at something in order to balance himself. He breathed out in relief as he regained his stability and glanced at Sango to make sure she was alright. He was surprised to see a look of absolute shock. She stared down in horror at where his hand was positioned.

"Miroku," Sango said, her voice shaky with anger, "Get your hand off my boob please."

He ripped his hand away as though she were red hot and stuttered his apology. He turned to see Lorenzo standing behind him with a raised fist and a look that could kill.

"W-wait, I-I didn't do it on purpose!" Miroku cried out frantically, waving his hands out in front of him.

PUNCH!

Ooo

Naraku was very good at dancing and he hadn't even known. As much as Lola hated to admit, he was a natural and could pick up any new step with ease. He and Kikyo made a good pair, the both of them were fierce competition even when on the same team. Lola remained silent after the spider incident. She didn't know how Naraku had done it, with illusions or projectors, but it had successfully shut her up for the rest of the afternoon. She occasionally shouted out instructions or counts.

It came to a point when Kikyo had to kick her leg out from under his and he had to perform a half turn straight after. However, she miscalculated the rhythm count and brought up her knee at the wrong moment, catching Naraku hard, right between his legs.

"EEEEEEE!"

Kikyo brought a hand up to her mouth and gasped. Naraku bent over and held his crotch, gasping for air. Lola came running from the opposite side of the room.

"Are you okay? Did I get too hard?" asked Kikyo, trying hard not to laugh.

Naraku lifted his head, on his face was a pained expression and his eyes watered.

"Nope! I'm fine!" He gasped squeakily. "I think I'll just rest…right here on the floor!" He said in a high pitched tone. Whimpering, he fell to his knees and collapsed on the ground in a foetal position, his hands still clutching his manhood.

"Ooops." Kikyo said. She turned to Lola. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

Lola nudged him with her foot, a sadistic smile playing on her lips. "Ooooh I think he'll be out for quite a while."

Kikyo giggled. Lola glanced down at her watch. "My how time has flown! You can get changed now Kikyo, that's enough forrr today. Oh, and when _he_ wakes up make sure he returns the clothes I lent him."

Kikyo grinned and nodded, floating towards the closet to get changed. Lola left the room with her stereo and Naraku was left in the middle of the room floor, moaning occasionally.

Ooo

Kagome tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the others in reception. She and Inuyasha were the first to come down and were forced to wait for the rest to arrive.

Sesshoumaru and Kagura joined them, Sango and a rather abused Miroku shortly after. Kouga walked up to them with Ayame on his arm and finally Kikyo followed by Naraku hobbling along behind.

Kagome sighed and led them out of the academy, waving at Mr Tippytoes on the way out. They were all surprised at how dark it had gotten, and how quickly the day had passed. After the ten minutes walk to the Yoru Hotel they arrived at the foyer only to be greeted by the irritable desk clerk. Kagome walked straight past the elevators and started climbing the stairs, the others trudging along behind. They got to their suites, the girls went in room 202 and the boys entered room 201. Kagome, was relieved to find the boys' room nice and clean and secretly thanked room service. Now all she had to worry about was keeping them busy until it was time to go to bed. She looked at her watch and sighed. It was only six thirty.

A/N: I had a lot more planned for this chapter but I guess I'll have to leave it at this. And for those of you wondering about the crazy author girl and her garlic and her bats, Kyuuketsuki actually means vampire in Japanese. That's what it says on my profile!


	21. Lights Out

I'm moving house people! That means the computer's going in a box! Yaaaay! (author frowns for a second) wait…Nooooo! I don't know when I'll update next, so if you're lucky, chapter 22 will be up in about a week and if not, well it means I'm probably moving already. Thanks for the encouraging comments; ranchan23 (you must be a mind reader or something! You always seem to guess what I'm going to write next! Thanks for the compliments!), Angel8818, electricdragon, Lady Kagewaki (Naraku is having a pretty hard time isn't he?), Inu-chan's luver, death88, Female SSBM Fan, lalalalala2, koolkirara and Cela Andromeda. Now be prepared for more craziness!

Disclaimer: Holy crap! Rumiko Takahashi owns Inuyasha! Jeez, I never knew. Oh, by the way, I was being SARCASTIC.

**Chapter 21: Lights Out**

Kagome dug out a few fashion magazines from a drawer in the hotel room and threw them to the girls.

"Here, look through these for the time being while I go check on the boys, okay?"

Sango caught a magazine, plopped onto her bed and began to carefully turn the pages, Ayame did the same, but Kagura, however, only scoffed and refused to look through hers, preferring to sit by the window and stare out into the street. Sango and Ayame 'ooh'ed and 'ah'ed at the photographs in their magazines.

"Wow, Kagome, how did they get in there?" Sango asked, prodding the page with her index finger. Kagome, who was just opening the door to step out and anxious to check on the boys, began to quickly explain what photos, fashion, catwalks and designers were to an attentive Sango and Ayame. The two girls stared at Kagome and back at the magazines in amazement.

"This era is incredible!" cried Ayame. She flipped onto her back and held the magazine in front of her face. Kagura was beginning to wish she'd grabbed one while she had the chance. Well, the street was kind of interesting too.

Kikyo hovered over Sango's shoulder and peered curiously at all the stick-thin, scantily clad, white-skinned fashion models and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Kagome, have these women also come back from the dead to haunt the living? They are similar to me, with their pale skin and slim frames. Are they too made of bones and burial soil?" Kikyo enquired breathily.

Kagome had one foot out the room but pulled it out, sighing. She _really_ needed to see if the boys were destroying anything. She turned to face Kikyo.

"No, those women, unlike you, are alive. It's just that they don't eat much in order to conserve those slim bodies of theirs. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go and check on the guys." said Kagome finally. She left the suite, closing the door behind her. Kikyo thought for a while before picking up a magazine that lay on the carpet and flicking through it.

OooOoo

Kagome knocked on the door of the guys' room. When she heard nothing, she turned the knob and cautiously opened the door, peering into the suite through the gap. She almost passed out with relief when she saw that everything was intact and indeed tidy. She spotted Sesshoumaru by the window looking as bored as dog that's had its leash locked away in a closet. Inuyasha, Kouga, Miroku and Naraku were standing in the middle of the room, as if not daring to touch anything and Miroku in fact had his hands behind his back just to be on the safe side.

Kagome giggled at the scene. "It's okay guys, you can sit down at least."

The four men sighed with relief, Naraku threw himself onto the comfy sofa, Miroku climbed onto his bed to meditate, Kouga dived onto the floor in front of the television and Inuyasha sat next to Naraku and yawned. Kagome quickly explained how everything in the room worked, including the bathroom and of course the T.V.

"Wait, wait…you mean to say that there's an ice box full of snacks in here?" Kouga asked, hardly daring to believe it. Kagome nodded.

"Yes, that's the fridge. There's also a cupboard filled with other kinds of food but be careful not to eat it all at once, remember what happened to Kikyo." She warned. Kouga nodded his head vigorously. Kagome turned and was about to leave when she spotted something on a shelf below the television. She walked over to it and pulled off some plastic covering, revealing an Xbox, complete with consoles and a game. She raised her eyebrows, _wow; this really is a five star hotel!_

"Inuyasha, I'm going to go back to my room. Since you know how the T.V and Xbox work, you can explain them to the guys, okay?"

Inuyasha smirked, crossed his arms smugly and nodded. It was good to know that he had more knowledge of Kagome's era than the others, especially when it came to the Xbox. Souta had taught him well.

"Great. I'll pop by later then."

Kagome's eyes wandered around the room once again to see if everything was the way it should be and took her leave.

Inuyasha began searching around the room, among the sofa cushions, on the shelves and under tables for something. Naraku and Kouga stared at him in confusion.

"Aha!" yelled Inuyasha triumphantly, holding up the T.V remote in his hand.

"What the hell is that thing?" asked Kouga. Inuyasha made himself comfortable on the sofa and pressed a random button on the remote, causing a little red light bulb on the T.V to flicker. Naraku and Kouga gazed intently at the blank screen; it was beginning to fill with moving shapes and colours and sounds emitted from the speakers. Inuyasha grinned when they both gasped in amazement.

"What is that? How do those people fit in such a small space? Why are they there?" garbled Naraku in astonishment. Kouga nodded and continued to stare open mouthed at the screen.

"I dunno, you just press a button and they're there. And when you press another one…" Inuyasha explained, jabbing his finger into the remote, "the people change. See?"

Inuyasha demonstrated again, flicking through the channels. He landed on one channel where they were featuring the movie Spiderman 2 and he was about to change when Naraku screamed and waved his arms about like crazy.

"WAIT! DON'T CHANGE IT!"

Inuyasha paused. Naraku gawped at Peter Parker as webs streamed out from his wrists.

"Oooooh! He's a demon! He's just like me! Hahahaha! Spiders rule!" Sang Naraku, bouncing up and down on the sofa cushions and pumping the air with his fists. Inuyasha and Kouga looked at each other and raised an eyebrow at Naraku's behaviour. Inuyasha shrugged and sat back to watch the movie and Kouga's mouth dropped open when Spiderman swung through the city of New York.

"This Spider dude is friggin' cool!"

Inuyasha twisted around and called out to Miroku, who was sitting cross-legged on his bed with his hands held out Indian style.

"Oi! Miroku! D'ya wanna see this?" Inuyasha yelled. Miroku didn't answer; instead he took an exaggeratingly deep breath and hummed,

"Han, ya, ha, ra, mi, taaaaa….."

Inuyasha stared at Miroku for a moment then turned back to watch the movie. When Spiderman beat up Doc Ock, Naraku screamed triumphantly and shot his arms into the air causing Inuyasha to fall off the sofa in fright and Kouga to jump up from the floor in surprise, get tangled in the rug and fall down again. Inuyasha popped up rubbing his head and fumed while Kouga attempted to free himself from the rug's clutches.

"Why you evil, stinky bastard! What'd ya do that fer?" Inuyasha shouted angrily. Naraku shot his arm out in front of him and pointed at Inuyasha.

"Hey, I may be evil, but I am NOT stinky!" He sniffed the pit of his outstretched arm and made a face. "Jeez, you're right."

"Then why don't you do us all a favour and leave, the smell is making me nauseous!" cried Kouga from the floor. Naraku frowned for a second and then his expression lightened a bit.

"I know! Didn't the miko mention a…shaowa er something? To bathe in?"

Inuyasha shrugged as he switched the T.V off.

Naraku got up from the sofa, walked to the bathroom and peered inside. He spotted the shower stall, five white towels and five white bathrobes hanging on hooks along the tiled wall of the bathroom. Naraku grabbed a few towels and robes and threw them out onto one of the beds, so as to be able to hang his clothes on the hooks. He undressed and got into the stall, staring around at the bottles and bars of soap, his eyes finally resting upon the shower taps.

Inuyasha stretched and yawned as he too got up from the sofa. He started towards the kitchenette when he heard a voice from behind the closed door of the bathroom.

"Um, how does this work?"

Inuyasha groaned and slapped a hand against his forehead. How was he going to explain the shower to Naraku? Then he remembered when he showered in Kagome's house, Souta had shown him then.

"Yeah, um there's a knob thingy there…ya see it?" He said through the door.

He heard Naraku search. "…yeah."

"Yeah well, it's like an indoor waterfall mixed up with a hot spring. So if you turn the knobby thing to the right, then out comes the cold waterfall. If you turn it to the left, then out comes the hot waterfall. Got it?"

He heard Naraku repeat everything he had just said. "Okay, got it." He called out from the shower stall.

Inuyasha shook his head and went to the kitchenette to get some food. Miroku ceased his humming and opened one eye. _I think I'll bathe as well, though it means waiting for Naraku to get out. _He got out of his position, grabbed a towel and changed into a white bathrobe. As he sat back down on the bed he heard the squeak of a knob turning and the sound of rushing water from the bathroom.

"Aaaaaah" came Naraku's calmed voice.

Kouga finally freed himself from the rug and got hold of a games console and examined it carefully, running a finger over the buttons. He stared at the T.V and at the Xbox, he had no idea how to work them but he'd try, that would show he was smarter than Inuyasha and then maybe Kagome would like him more. Inuyasha was rummaging through the snacks in the cupboard. He gave up and opened the fridge and smiled. He reached in and took out a can of his favourite soda.

Then came the singing.

"La la la la loo loo loo doobydoo doobydoo ping ping ding ding cha cha cha choo choo choo…!"

Naraku picked up a random bottle and squirted some of the liquid inside into his palm, lathering up his hair and rinsing it out in the warm water that gushed out of the shower head.

Outside the bathroom, all heads were turned at the horrendous sound of Naraku's…er, _singing_.

OooOoo

"Why doesn't she just accept that he loves him! Sniff!"

"Because he's the father of her sister's baby! Poor thing! Sob!"

"Girls, none of this is real, they're just actors!" Kagome said as she passed on yet another wad of tissues. Sango took one and wiped her eyes, passing the wad on to Ayame who did the same. They were all sitting on the sofa that was situated in front of the television.

"I know but it's so, so sad!" wailed Ayame. Sango nodded in agreement. Kagome rolled her eyes and sighed. Kikyo was floating somewhere near the ceiling reading through an edition of Vogue. Kagura had long since forgotten that she was supposed to uninterested in anything around the hotel, and was now sitting in front of the T.V with the others. She received the wad of tissues from Ayame and proceeded to blow her nose.

Kagome stood up and stretched. "I'm just going to check on the boys, be right back."

The girls nodded, their eyes not leaving the T.V for one moment. Kagome plucked a scrunched up tissue from her arm and made over to the door.

OooOoo

Sesshoumaru stared out into the dark street from the window. He saw someone with a dog on a leash; the dog began to sniff around a tree and the grass near it. It stayed still a while and lifted its tail. After doing its business, the owner pulled out what seemed to be a bag and bent down to scoop up the doggy doo.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. _I think I've seen enough_.

He walked past the kitchenette and the bathroom where Miroku was now pounding on the door, asking Naraku to hurry up.

Sesshoumaru spotted the wolf demon sitting cross-legged in front of the blank T.V making noises similar to those of things exploding and occasionally moved from side to side.

"Yes! Take that! And that! Wooooo! BOOM! POW! WHOOOOOSH! Hehehe! Yes, I'm winnin'!" Kouga roared triumphantly.

"Wolf demon, the screen is blank." Sesshoumaru said.

"That's what it's supposed to do, it's meant to be like that." Said Kouga, with an air of I-know-what-I'm-doing about him.

"Hmph."

_What a simpleton_. Thought Sesshoumaru. He gazed at the door of the suite, he would take a walk now, yes, he wanted to explore the hotel. The suite was boring, there were things to do for entertainment but they seemed much too trivial for him. He turned the knob of the door and strode out casually, closing it behind him and no one even noticed he had left.

Miroku continued to bang on the door. All his meditation was a waste of time it seemed, for he was rapidly losing his patience with Naraku.

Just then, the door opened and Kagome entered the room. She was relieved to find everything in one piece. She spotted Inuyasha walking out of the kitchenette, piercing the soda can in his hand with his fangs and gulping down its contents. Kagome went over to him, passing Kouga, who was still making battle sounds, on the way.

"Hey, Inuyasha…oh, Kouga you need to switch that on first. Inu, is everything okay in here?" asked Kagome, straightening up from connecting the Xbox to the T.V and switching it on. Kouga's face was burning with embarrassment. Inuyasha swallowed and nodded.

"Yeah, fine." He said, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"Oh, good…uh…Miroku are you alright?" Kagome asked, seeing Miroku standing with a towel over his arm, dressed in a bathrobe and with his face plastered against the bathroom door. He moaned.

"Naraku won't hurry UP!" He whined. Kagome raised her eyebrows, so the person in the shower was…

"LA LA LA LA LA DOO DOO DOO _gurgle gurgle gurgle spit_ DOO DOO LA LA LA LA LA _brrrrrrr! _SHOOBYDOO SHOOBYDOO…!"

Ah.

Kagome sighed. Well at least he wasn't making too much trouble. She searched around the room for Sesshoumaru but he didn't seem to be in sight.

"Um, Miroku, have you seen Sesshoumaru?"

Miroku shook his head as best he could while having it against the door. He whined again.

"Kouga, have you seen Sesshoumaru?" She called out to the wolf demon playing Xbox.

"Who!" Kouga yelled, above the loud explosions coming from the game he was playing as he frantically pressed every single button on his console. "Damnit! I want him to go that way! No! _Click click click press press press _Yeah! Something exploded! Oh wait, that was me. Crap!"

Kagome decided to question him no further. Inuyasha passed her as he strode towards the sofa.

"Hey Inuyasha, do you know where your brother is?" She asked anxiously. Inuyasha walked past and shrugged, slurping his soda. Kagome cried out and flung herself upon one of the beds, pulling at her hair with her hands.

"Oh noooo! He's gone, He's loose! What am I gonna doooo! Ohoho no, no NO!" she sobbed.

"hey, don't worry about it, he'll be fine. Takes a lot to keep that bastard down." Inuyasha said gruffly.

Kagome paused in her sobbing and glared at him. "It's not Sesshoumaru I'm worried about. What of the poor innocent people in this hotel? He'll kill them all!" She wailed.

"Keh, he don't kill just for the fun of it, you know that. And why am I defending him anyway! No! Bad Inuyasha! Bad dog!" Inuyasha cried, cursing himself. Kagome sniffed and got up slowly.

"I guess you're right. It's almost nine, I'm going back to my room." She said and she left.

OooOoo

Meanwhile Sesshoumaru had stopped to examine the hotel's elevator. He had figured out how to use it. People pressed a button on the outside, the doors opened, people go in and pressed more buttons on the inside and the doors closed. When they opened again, either the mechanical box was empty or there were different people in it. He discovered that this fascinating contraption was used to take people up and down the building, after he had used his demon speed to race downstairs and find the same people he had seen get in the elevator on his floor, come out on a lower one. He had found ita fascinating piece of machinery.

So naturally, he decided to try it out himself. He went down to the first floor and carefully pressed the 'up' button with a clawed finger. He waited a while until there was a 'ding!' sound and the doors opened to reveal the empty compartment. He stepped inside and pressed the button that would take him up to his floor.

"Wait! Hold the elevator!" Cried a woman who seemed to be in her early twenties.

The young woman managed to dive into it just before the doors closed. Sesshoumaru stared down at her. Her eyes wondered over this strangely clad man and smiled.

"Great costume."

Sesshoumaru ignored her and held up his head.

OooOoo

Kagome got back to her room and found the girls weeping waterfalls as the protagonist of the film decided to take her life.

"She had so much to live fohohohoor!" Ayame howled. Kagura nodded and passed the box of tissues to Sango, who then blew her nose. Kikyo was now floating upside down with Vogue edition Nº something. Kagome shook her head at the lot of them and went to the bathroom to look through all the cabinets to see what they stored. She opened the white little doors and picked one cherry coloured bottle and sniffed at it. Mmmm. Cherry. She peered inside the cabinet again and gasped as she pulled out five facial kits.

"Wow, face packs, cleanser, sponge…cool. We should try these." She whispered excitedly.

At that moment the lights flickered and went out, leaving the hotel in complete darkness. Kagome heard protesting cries from the girls as they were robbed of the movie ending.

"Great. We'll have to do the facials another time." Kagome mumbled. She stumbled out of the bathroom and proceeded to search through the room for a torch.

OooOoo

Miroku's head perked up when the lights went out. _Huh?_ He heard Naraku turn the squeaky knob in the shower and the water finally stopped gushing out.

"Hey! I can't see!" Naraku yelled from the shower stall. There was a loud skidding sound a "YAAAAAAAAAAA!" And a painful sounding thump.

"OOOOOW!"

Miroku smirked in the dark.

Inuyasha and Kouga had been playing against each other on the Xbox and were currently arguing about who had been winning before the lights went out.

"NO, I was winning before the lights went out mutt face!"

"Shut the hell up ya mangy wolf! We both know that I was!"

"Don't you tell me ta shut up!"

"Well do it anyway!"

"Why you sunova..!"

OooOoo

Sesshoumaru couldn't help feeling a little apprehensive when the elevator gave a jolt and stopped moving. They were just arriving at Sesshoumaru's floor when the electricity was cut off, however the emergency lighting inside the compartment had been activated immediately after. Now both he and the woman were stuck in a dimly lit elevator and he began to notice the her rapidly increasing heart rate.

"Um, just so you know…I'm a little claustrophobic and afraid of the dark." The woman told him shakily, slowly backing up against the far corner of the compartment.

Sesshoumaru fought the urge to sigh in despair as he thought;

…_fuck…_

A/N: Another one finished! Believe it or not, the electricity is rather expensive here in Colombia and the internet services even more so, and I can only be on the computer for an hour at a time. Yes, my parents are control freaks so don't be surprised if I take longer than usual to update. Okey dokey smokey! This Kyuuketsuki san will be leaving you now. (Author's mum shouts "I hope that kyuuketsuki san is off the computer!" Author cringes.) Don't forget to R and R!


	22. Trouble in the Dark

Sorry people for the wait. My parents changed the rules. Now I get HALF AN HOUR ON THE WEEKENDS! But I cheated and here I am, at 1am. Yay! A shout out for all these reviewers; Lady Kagewaki, animelover, Guardiangirl624, Viperthe strange (oh my gosh! I also have a fear of elevators! You were so funny! If you write a story about that then I totally support you!), TaijiyaSango2498, electricdragon, Lone Wolf a.k.a Loner, HayLin4, Kei-Ookami.kara.mori, lalalalala2, Inu-chan's luver and Kracken l.w (great guess!). Thanks a lot you guys! Okey dokey smokey, on with the next chapter!

Disclaimer: This Kyuuketsuki san does not own Inuyasha.

**Chapter 22: Trouble in the Dark**

Kagome fumbled for the flashlight and when she eventually found it, she began flashing it around the room to check if the other girls were okay. She shone the light in Kagura's face.

"Is everyone okay?" Kagome asked anxiously.

"I'm fine, I can see in the dark anyway so no need to blind me." Kagura muttered, shielding her eyes with her hand. Kagome quickly directed the light away from the wind sorceress' face. She wondered why there had been a power cut in the first place, that kind of thing wasn't common in places like this. She stumbled over to Sango, who was sitting on the sofa with her legs tucked under her body.

"Kagome, does this happen often?" Sango asked. Kagome shook her head. She looked over at Ayame and got a little crept out by her eyes that were now glowing in the dark. Kikyo continued to float somewhere above them like a ghost until Kagura told her to get down and stop scaring the shit out of everyone. Kikyo reluctantly complied.

Kagome sat down on the sofa beside Sango and sighed, twirling the flashlight around in her hands.

"Well, it looks like we have to wait until the lights come back then." She said. The girls nodded and made themselves as comfortable as they could in the dark.

OooOoo

The young woman slid down the wall of the elevator and began to hug her knees, rocking to and fro. She was muttering to herself and had Sesshoumaru not been a demon, he wouldn't have been able to hear what she was saying.

"Breathe in, breathe out…remember what Doctor Takayama said, the walls are NOT closing in, they are NOT going to crush you…"She whispered agitatedly. Sesshoumaru let out a small sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. It was getting stuffy inside the compartment, the wretched woman was slowly going insane and it seemed that they weren't going to get out anytime soon. Great.

"You are NOT having difficulty breathing…" She continued to whisper, her breath leaving her mouth in short pants. She looked around the compartment frantically, spotted Sesshoumaru standing there and pressed herself harder against the wall.

"No one is going to kill you…you are NOT going to die…that man is NOT going to kill you…just breeeeeeeathe…no one is going to kill you…" She whispered to herself time and time again.

"If you continue to mutter as nonsensically as you are doing now then believe me, when they open this cursed compartment, all they find will be your dead body lying inside it." He growled. The woman stared up at him with frightened eyes. He glared back at her threateningly and she began to rock more vigorously than before. Satisfied that she would not be saying anything else, Sesshoumaru turned away from her and began to examine the elevator doors. He heard a strangled sob and he caught the salty scent of tears in the stifling air. He looked down at the woman to find that she was crying and he fought down the urge to slap his forehead.

OooOoo

"I said I won damnit!"

"Like hell you did!"

Inuyasha and Kouga were still at it, waving their arms crazily in the dark. Miroku continued to bang his head upon the bathroom door and on the other side of it; Naraku was heard to be moaning about his sore head, which he had hit against the shower door when he had slipped.

"THAT'S IT! I'M TAKING YOU DOWN RIGHT NOW!" yelled Inuyasha, tossing aside his Xbox console and lunging at Kouga.

"BRING IT ON MUTT FACE!" roared Kouga in reply, diving at Inuyasha. They rolled around in the dark, crashing into the coffee table and various chairs, they sprung apart, and then leapt at each other again, growling and snarling as they proceeded to wreak havoc in the hotel suite.

OooOoo

Sesshoumaru had been in many trying circumstances. He had been in fierce battles, dealt with hostile demons and yet he had always triumphed. But today's situation had to be one of the most tedious of all. Because that wretched woman wouldn't stop her damn crying. She continued to rock to and fro, her breaths coming out in hiccups and she constantly sniffed to avoid anything from dripping out of her nose. Sesshoumaru didn't know how much more he would be able to take before finally cracking.

During the time he had been trapped in the elevator, he had managed to study the doors and he hadn't yet come up with a way of forcing them open without actually tearing them down. His brow furrowed slightly in concentration. Ah, but it was so simple.

He neared himself to the doors of the compartment and reached up with his right hand to the very top of them. He slowly dragged a claw down the part where the two doors met and the poison from his hand seeped into the gap, melting all of the circuits within. He heard the woman gasp but took no notice. Soon he had finished and he let the metal cool down a while to let the acrid burning smell pass. He slid one hand through the newly scorched gap between the doors and pushed it along sideways, then he did the same with the other. He stepped out of the compartment and onto his floor, which was now almost completely dark and without one look behind him he strode casually off to find his room. The cowering woman in the lift stared after him in astonishment and slowly picked herself off from the floor of the compartment. She sniffed once and swallowed.

"My…my hero!" She whispered.

OooOoo

"Let me guess this one! Ummmm…is it a rabbit, Kagome?" Asked Sango hopefully.

"Yes!" squealed Kagome, lowering her hands from the flashlight. "Okay, your turn to do one Sango."

Sango swapped places with Kagome and placed her hands in front of the light to make a shape. The other girls observed carefully. Suddenly Ayame jumped up and down in her seat.

"It's Naraku!" She cried. Sango shook her head. Kikyo scoffed and said,

"It's a spider." As though it were obvious to everyone.

Just then, a loud crash sounded from the next room followed by yells and fierce battle cries. Kagome dragged a hand down her face and picked up the flashlight.

"I hope you girls don't mind being in the dark for a while, I have to go check on the boys. She left the suite and entered the next one.

She flashed her light around the room but she couldn't see well enough, the boys were way too fast. She heard Inuyasha curse and then Kouga scoff, followed by a 'thwack' and then an 'ow!'

"Please guys! Stop! This is very expensive stuff you're smashing!" cried Kagome frantically, waving the flashlight around. At that moment there was a faint whirring sound and the lights flickered back on, causing Kagome to sigh heavily with relief. She switched off the flashlight and almost reluctantly brought herself to look at the scene before her. What she got was a surprise.

Inuyasha was currently pounding the sofa cushions brutally and Kouga was at the opposite side of the room, biting on what seemed to be a chair leg. When the lights came on they returned to their senses and stopped what they were doing.

"I was surprised at how fleabag had shut up so soon." Inuyasha said, scratching his head confusedly. Kouga massaged his jaw and shook his head at the chair leg, now full of tooth marks.

"I wondered why ol' mutt face's legs were a bit harder than normal." He said, opening and closing his mouth to get the feel back in his gums. "Hey! I know just the thing to get rid of the soreness!" he said as he dashed to the kitchenette. He rummaged through the cupboards and pulled out a packet of Doritos and stepped out of the kitchenette noisily munching on them.

"Oi! That was the last packet! It was s'posed to be mine you mangy wolf!" Inuyasha yelled, leaping over the sofa.

"Osuwari!"

SPLACK!

"Hey, Kagome! What the hell was that fer?"

"Osuwari!"

PLOMP!

"Oi!"

"Inuyasha! I _told_ you about the cursing! And there is no need to pick another fight with Kouga over a measly bag of Doritos!" She screamed. Kouga grinned smugly at Inuyasha, who was now picking himself up off the floor.

"Thanks Kagome, I always knew you liked me best." He said cockily and winked at her. Inuyasha growled threateningly.

Kagome stuck her nose in the air and turned to see Miroku, still banging his head feebly against the bathroom door.

"Miroku why are you still-" Kagome began.

There was a 'click' and the bathroom door opened revealing Naraku, who was rubbing a spot just above his eye. He stood in all his glory…because he was completely naked.

"Oooh, this is gonna bruise." He groaned, unaware of the fact that Kagome was now screaming her head off and exiting the hotel room at full speed. Miroku was covering his eyes and yelling,

"MY EYES! OH MY POOR INNOCENT EYES! THEY HAVE BEEN TAINTED! TAAAAAIIIIINTEEEED!"

Miroku whipped off the towel from his arm and hastily wrapped it around the lower part of Naraku's body, his eyes screwed shut for fear of glimpsing at any unwanted sights. Naraku was oblivious to all of this and continued to rub his bruised head. He then noticed Miroku covering him with a white towel and stared at him stupidly.

"What are you doing?" Naraku asked.

"I'M SAVING THE WORLD!" Miroku cried, securing the towel and darting into the bathroom to wash his hands thoroughly.

Inuyasha was presently sulking on the sofa and Kouga spread out on a bed, happily munching on his Doritos, making extra loud appreciative sounds on how good they tasted. Inuyasha clenched his fists tightly and grinded his teeth. He spotted a flash of white and looked up to see Sesshoumaru enter the room. Inuyasha opened his mouth to ask where he had been but Sesshoumaru lifted up a hand to stop him.

"Say one word and I'll make sure that when I'm through with you, your facial muscles with cease to function."

Inuyasha shut his mouth hastily and decided to actually listen to his brother for once. He liked his face too much to risk losing it.

OooOoo

"Kagome, I'm sure it wasn't that bad…please try to calm down!" Sango pleaded as she desperately tried to comfort her traumatised friend.

"HE…WAS…NEKKED!" Kagome shrieked, "I THINK THAT'S BAD ENOUGH!" And she lapsed into a fresh bout of hysterics. Ayame passed the tissue box to Sango and Sango handed them to Kagome.

Kagura shuddered, she knew exactly how Kagome felt. Kikyo was hovering above them all with a grin plastered on her face, oh how she would have loved to see Kagome's reaction.

Sango and Ayame tried to get Kagome to quieten down. They tucked her up into her bed and she gradually stopped hiccupping and fell asleep. Sango, exhausted from the day, also decided to retire for the night and climbed into her own bed, and the demonesses, Ayame and Kagura, sat upon their own beds not to sleep but to wait for the night to pass. They tried hard to ignore the cackling priestess that floated eerily above their heads.

OooOoo

The days passed quickly at the Dance Academy and the group was improving greatly with their daily lessons. Soon they found themselves a mere two days a way from the contest and their nervousness was beginning to surface. They would soon be competing against each other, much like in the feudal era but this time, it would be friend versus friend as well as versus foe.

A/N sorry for the short chapter, I haven't really got enough time to write, what with the half an hour and everything. Please Read and Review! This Kyuuketsuki san will be forever obliged to you.


	23. Beauty Tips for All

Yay! I'm baaaack! Everyone's okay back home in London. I heard about some nail bombs there too but I'd already come here by time. I've already moved house here in Colombia. To HayLin4, Kiwi-San, electricdragon, lalalalala2, Sesshomaru girl 101, ranchan23, the squabbit, Fluffyluva246, Guardiangirl624, Lady Kagewaki Kracken l.w, Kiwi-San, TaijiyaSango2498, crainess, Viperthe strange (thanks), Kellychankitty, Inu-chan's luver, coolmarauders, Kei-Ookami.kara.mori and every one else who reviewed I am so grateful for all your continuing support, love yas!

Disclaimer: All Inuyasha characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi and not Kyuuketsuki-san…no matter how great Kyuuketsuki-san may be.

**Chapter 23: Beauty Tips for All**

Another day at the dance academy, and Kagome headed down to the cafeteria to grab a bite. Inuyasha had stayed behind to ask Annie something so Kagome had gone down without him. She arrived at the cafeteria and met with Sango, Ayame, Kagura and Kouga. They all sat down at a table while Kagome joined the queue with a couple of trays for piling food on and Kikyo arrived shortly after to join them. After a few minutes Kagome was staggering towards the table under the weight of a vast amount of food piled up on top of the trays that she balanced with her hands. Soon they were all tucking in and not one single crumb was left when they finished. Kagome sat back in her chair and rubbed her full stomach, then glanced down at her watch. She frowned. _Where are the others? They should have come down a while ago._

Kagome tapped Sango on the shoulder. "Mmm, Sango, you didn't happen to pass Inuyasha on your way down did you?" Sango shook her head and frowned.

"No, and come to think of it, Miroku hasn't appeared yet, d'you think something's wrong?"

Kagome shrugged and leaned back in her chair again. She then sat up straight and turned to Kagura.

"Kagura, where is Sesshoumaru?"

Kagura blanched, "What, just because I dance with him doesn't mean I go every where with him, are you accusing me of something? I don't know where he is!" Kagura babbled. Kagome raised her eyebrows at the unusual outburst. Kagura positively burned with embarrassment but did her best to try and look dignified. She sat up straight in her chair and crossed her arms.

"Ahem, actually when I was leaving the dance room, I bumped into Inuyasha. It seemed he wanted to speak to Sesshoumaru about something. Oh, and the creep Naraku was with him as well. I thought it rather strange too." Kagura added, seeing the confused expression on Kagome's face.

"That's really weird. Inuyasha never speaks to either Sesshoumaru or Naraku willingly, nor does he miss the opportunity to stuff his face with food. I noticed his absence yesterday and the day before too but I never though much of it." She turned to Sango, "What could he be up to?"

Sango shrugged and began to wonder if Miroku was somehow involved. He also had been missing yesterday but she had assumed he was chasing after those pretty ballet dancers from room B6. Kagome stood up abruptly and began to exit the cafeteria and the others followed suit, they still had the rest of the afternoon to perfect their moves.

Ooo

Kagome opened the door and found Inuyasha already there, warming up his joints and stretching. Kagome opened her mouth to ask what he had been doing but Annie cut her off by ushering her to the middle of the room to stretch.

The music began and both Inuyasha and Kagome performed their sequence, which was nearly perfect. Annie was impressed by their progress, hardly any mistakes were made and they even remembered to smile (or grin, in Inuyasha's case) at the 'crowd'. When they finished Annie applauded them and congratulated them on their improvement.

"Well, you've learnt everything I've taught you, all that's left is to continue to practice until it's time for the competition. Oh, and Mr Tippytoes told me to inform you that tomorrow, all participants have the day off to prepare for the contest and of course, to rest well. We don't want anyone collapsing now, do we?" Annie said.

Kagome nodded eagerly but Inuyasha was beginning to sweat. He was nervous, this was worse than preparing for a battle with Naraku because this time, there were a lot of people coming to watch and the judges keeping an eye on every move performed.

There was a loud rapping on the door, startling Inuyasha slightly. Annie skipped over to open it and in bustled two, short, stocky women in their mid fifties with pins in their mouths and tape measures draped around their necks.

"Ah," Annie exclaimed, "These two wonderful ladies are from the costume department on the fourth floor of the academy. They will be making your outfits."

Kagome squealed and hopped up and down with excitement, while Inuyasha gawped at Annie.

"Gaaaah? Outfits? No way! I ain't gonna play dress up and make fool a myself in front of everyone!" He yelled, dodging the woman who was trying to wrap her tape measure around his body.

"Inuyashaaaa…" Inuyasha cringed and froze. "Osuwari!"

CRASH!

"You can measure him now." Said Kagome, glaring at Inuyasha as she lifted her arms so her waist could be measured.

Inuyasha groaned into the floor.

Ooo

"I'm telling you Sango, I have not been flirting with the ballet dancers again! I swear!"

"Houshiiii…you better tell me the truth right now!"

"But Sango, my sweet, I _am_ telling you the truth!" Miroku pleaded.

"Señor! Just tell the stupid trrruth already so that I may carry on with the lesson!" Lorenzo barked.

Miroku let out a sigh of utter exasperation.

Ooo

Fleur smiled proudly as Sesshoumaru and Kagura performed the last step and she wiped a tear from her eye.

"Monsieur, zat was absolutely perfect!" She purred. She heard an 'ahem'. "Oh, you too mademoiselle." She said in a bored tone, waving her hand impatiently at Kagura.

Kagura fumed and clenched her fists. How dare she be treated in this manner! Sesshoumaru glanced at the angry wind sorceress and was surprised at how he had almost smiled with amusement. He found Kagura a very curious creature; she was capable of making the great Sesshoumaru grin (almost) at her crazy antics. It was fascinating.

Afterwards, they were measured by two short, stocky women, despite Kagura's protests and Sesshoumaru's venomous glares, and then they were allowed to leave after Fleur had briefed them on what was to happen the following day. Fleur waved at them when they exited and sighed when they had gone. _Goodbye, monsieur. Do me proud in the contest._

Ooo

Sean applauded Kouga and Ayame on their fantastic performance, they had done extremely well. Kouga had a smug expression on his face and Ayame was looking enormously proud of herself. Just then there was a knock on the door and when it was open, the same short women barged in to measure the demons.

Ayame was happy to cooperate but Kouga was certain he was being attacked so he fled from the woman trying to reach him, running round and round the room creating a powerful cyclone.

"KOUGAAAAAAAA! THEY JUST WANT TO MEASURE YOUUUUU!"

Kouga stopped dead in his tracks and looked about him and saw Ayame, red in the face from screaming. The little woman waddled up to him, panting like crazy and managed to fling the tape measure around his neck to prevent his escape. She nodded at Ayame in appreciation and Ayame smiled. Finally, she had obtained a little control of the wild wolf prince and maybe she would be liked better for it.

"I hate you Ayame. You have humiliated me!" He growled as he lifted his arms to have his chest measured.

Ayame scowled. Maybe not.

Ooo

Naraku and Kikyo were just about to leave the dance room when Lola stopped them.

"I just wanted to say…" Lola began. This was very hard for her to admit, "You two have shown unbelievable prrrogrrress these past few days…you arrre possibly the…the best students I have everrr taught. Therrre! I said it!" She cried.

Naraku smirked. "Well that was unexpected. And I didn't even have to threaten you with death for you to say it."

Lola narrowed her eyes at him. "You had betterrr do me prrroud in that contest or I'll-"

Naraku silenced her by raising his hand. He turned to the door but then swung round and pointed upwards.

"Oh my! That spider is enormous! And it's going to land on your head!" He yelled.

Lola let out a blood curdling scream and dove for cover and Naraku burst into peals of evil laughter.

"Hm hm hm…sorry, I must have imagined it. Hm hm hm ha ha ha ha ha haaaa…"

Even Kikyo was giggling when they left the room which surprised Naraku greatly. He had never been able to make her laugh before unless it was at his expense. Kikyo caught him staring and ceased immediately.

"What?" She challenged. Naraku shrugged.

Ooo

Everyone met downstairs at reception, which was currently swarming with workmen carrying ladders, middle aged women bustling about holding colourful decorations and excited dance students getting in people's way. Mr Tippytoes was skipping around happily, helping in any way he could and as soon as he caught sight of Kagome and the others, he danced up to them with a sparkle of excitement in his eyes.

"ithn't thith magnifithent? The ballroom ith being decorated for the contetht, oh the colourth! It'th tho beautiful!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down eagerly. Kagome took a small step back to avoid getting hit by one of Mr Tippytoes' flailing arms.

"Oh yeth, I trutht you have all been told about tomorrow?" When they nodded he continued, "Good, well tomorrow the academy will be clothed for decoration tho don't bother coming. Ah, and I believe you've been measured ath well, tho you'll eventually thee your outfith on the day of the competition-"

"Whaaaaat?" Inuyasha cried. "You mean that the first time we get to see what our clothes look like is on the day? What if they're disgusting?"

Kagome shushed him as best she could, "Inuyasha, he's done this before! Please don't make scene."

"No, no Kagome, it'th quite alright. Yeth it'th my fault entirely, I'd fallen behind on the making of the outfith, but worry not! I have an army of theamthretheth at my command!" cried Mr Tippytoes pumping a fist into the air.

Inuyasha looked him, then at Kagome in confusion. "An army of what?"

"Seamstresses. They're women who make clothes." Kagome whispered.

Inuyasha shook his head and faced Mr Tippytoes. He pointed a threatening finger at him.

"Those clothes better be perfect, or I'll hunt ya down and…Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha twirled around for a moment, "What's that word ya always use?" Inuyasha barked.

"Disembowel."

"Yeah…that's it." Inuyasha whipped round and prodded Mr Tippytoes in the chest, "I'll hunt ya down and dis-em-bow-el ya. Sesshoumaru, was that right?" Inuyasha turned his head and saw Sesshoumaru nod approvingly.

"Got that? Answer me, you freaky bas-" a quick look at Kagome's murderous expression, "Ba-ba-ba-bi-big…big, booby!" Inuyasha snarled, as though that was what he had meant to say all along. Mr Tippytoes gulped and nodded. Inuyasha smirked and lowered his finger.

As they were leaving, Kagome mouthed an apology to the shaken Mr Tippytoes and waved at him sweetly. _Inuyasha must have frightened him pretty bad, why does always have to terrorize everyone he sees? Oh no! What if he threatens the judges at the contest? NO! Kagome, think positive!_

Kagome began to chew her bottom lip in anguish as she tried to push all the negative thoughts out of her brain. She didn't succeed. Inuyasha glanced at her while they walked along to get to the Yoru Hotel.

"Kagome, If yer hungry, there's food at the hotel. Ya don't have to eat yer own mouth." He teased, but she didn't even seem to hear him. Inuyasha shrugged.

Ooo

"There he is girls! That's the man who got me out of the elevator!"

Feminine squeals echoed around the foyer and soon Sesshoumaru found himself surrounded by swooning, screaming women. He looked at the others quizzically but what he saw caused a rise in his ire. Inuyasha had a stupid smirk plastered all over his face, Miroku was staring with a mixture of jealousy and longing in his eyes and both Naraku and Kouga were gawping at the scene open mouthed. The girls were already climbing the stairs and Sesshoumaru could distinctly hear a giggle escape Kagura's lips as she reached the landing of the first floor. Sesshoumaru clenched his fists and pulled his fur pelt, which was currently being stroked by several women, out of reach. He strode away from them but they clung to him like monkeys, some scribbled numbers on scraps of paper and tried shoving them into his armour. He had no idea what those numbers were so he slapped their hands away. Was it possible to drown in a torrent of human women? He deeply regretted having to leave his swords in the house of Inuyasha's wench. He could have used them already.

"Wow! His hair is so sooooft!"

"I wanna touch it!"

"let's get him into the elevator again!"

"Hey! It's my turn to feel his biceps!"

"Gerrof! He's mine!"

Sesshoumaru's left eye began to twitch uncontrollably and he flexed his claws. He could hear Inuyasha's raucous laughter and it very nearly made him see red, but he couldn't transform here, it was too risky, so he concentrated instead on controlling his rage. Impatient, he pushed his way past the silly females and made his way to the stairs, at a rather quick pace. He ignored the complaints and whines of the women and he brushed past Inuyasha, who was rolling around on the floor in hysterics.

Inuyasha wiped a tear from his eye, "Man…that was gold!" He got up to his feet and patted Miroku on the shoulder sympathetically. Miroku sighed as all the sulking women walked out of his reach.

Ooo

It was one o'clock in the morning and everyone in the hotel was sound asleep…well, except for a few demons of course. Miroku sighed for the umpteenth time that day and took the pillow off from over his head.

SNOOOOOOORRRRE! Grunt whine SNOOOOORRRE!

Miroku groaned. _How can anyone sleep through all this racket? _

He turned his head and let his eyes adjust to the darkness of the room. He could make out the figure in the bed next to his…it looked like Inuyasha. He was sitting up, as usual, and his head was slumped over his chest, his arms tucked into the sleeves of his haori. He was snoring loudly and occasionally making growling noises. Miroku turned his head to look at the bed on his other side. He squinted. It was Naraku, lying with his bottom in the air and snoring happily into the night. Miroku lifted his head from the pillow and peered at the bed situated in the far end of the suite. Kouga was lying spread eagled on the bed and was munching on a jumbo sized packet of Doritos, crackling the packet noisily and grunting with enjoyment. Miroku let his head fall back and he grabbed at his hair with both hands. He was _really_ tired. He flipped over to his side and decided to concentrate on the moon, visible through the panes of glass of the window. What he didn't expect to see was the silhouetted figure of a full grown dog demon staring unblinkingly at him with eerily glowing eyes. Miroku gave a small yelp of fright and burrowed under the covers, shutting his eyes tightly and reminding himself that Sesshoumaru was not going to kill him while he slept.

Ooo

Kagome yawned and slowly got out of bed, stumbling slightly in the dark as she felt her way to the bathroom. She almost reached it when she heard the tap run in the kitchenette and she froze. She whipped around and her eyes travelled the room as she searched for the intruder. She tiptoed to the mini kitchen and peered in, receiving the fright of her life as a ghostly body floated up to her.

"Jeez, Kikyo, you scared the heck out of me!" Kagome whispered hoarsely, placing a hand on her wildly beating heart. Kikyo took a sip of water from the glass she held in her hand and stared at Kagome boredly.

"I did? Good." She muttered, and she floated off to her bed, leaving Kagome to steady her breathing.

Ooo

The next morning, after breakfast, the gang was all set to practice and prepare for the following day. Miroku was sitting on the sofa reading a magazine Kagome had brought to the room, Inuyasha was flicking through all the TV channels and Kouga was spread out on the floor constructing…something…with the bars of soap he had found in the bathroom. Yes, they were all working very hard. Sesshoumaru was nowhere to be found since Kagura had barged in and literally dragged him out of the room to get him to practice with her, much to his surprise and amusement.

"Oi, Miroku, what's Naraku doing?" Asked Inuyasha, prodding a button on the remote. Naraku had locked himself in the bathroom with and was currently humming to himself. There was a crash and the sound of Naraku cursing and it became obvious that he had tripped over his own feet and fallen to the ground.

"Practicing his moves." replied Miroku, turning a page of the magazine.

Just then Ayame burst in and looked around the room until she spotted Kouga. She stomped over, grabbed him by the ankle and hauled him out of the suite, despite his screams and protests. On any other occasion Inuyasha would have been splitting his sides with laughter but exactly the same thing had happened to him earlier that morning with Kagome. He and Miroku shuddered.

"Nooooo! My soap castle! It's ruined! Leggo a me woman! You're embarrassing meeeee!" Kouga yelled, banging his fists upon the ground. Ayame continued to heave him along until she reached the corridor, there, she let go of his foot and stood over him with her hands on her hips.

"You, Kouga, are going to practice with me RIGHT NOW! If you have anything to say, I don't wanna hear it. I want us to look perfect tomorrow and if you let me down, I'll…I'll…" She thought for a minute, bent down to level her face with Kouga's and lowered her voice to a whisper, "I'll tell Kagome you named your tail Mr Wiggles!"

"You wouldn't!"

"Oh yes I would."

After seeing the horrified look on Kouga's face she grinned triumphantly and held out her hand, which Kouga took reluctantly.

Ooo

Sango plonked down onto the sofa and stretched her tired legs. She had just finished practicing with Miroku and they both ended up exhausted. Kagome was in the bathroom rummaging through the beauty products in the cabinet beneath the sink and Kikyo was out practicing with Naraku on the corridor of the fifth floor. Kagura was staring out the window as if in a daydream and Ayame was in the kitchenette getting a glass of water. The sun was getting ready to disappear for the night and the sky was tinged with oranges, pinks and yellows. While it had been at its highest point, the whole group had been working hard trying to perfect their moves and better their presentation. Now it was time to rest and improve their appearance for the next day, well, the girls were doing that because the guys were sprawled about in their suite pigging out on all the food.

Kikyo floated into the room tiredly and went to get some water. Kagome came out of the bathroom with her arms full of beauty products and she spilled them upon her bed. She rubbed her hands together with glee.

"Right! I found about five packets of beauty masks. You just have to add water and rub it on your face." She added, seeing the looks the other girls were giving her. She darted to the kitchenette and brought out a large mixing bowl, a spoon and a bottle of water. As the others watched in fascination, Kagome opened all of the packets and poured the powder into the bowl, adding water every now and then and mixed it all together. The mixture was now thick and creamy and smelt of cucumber.

"Okay! Now just stick your hand in there and get a glob of this stuff…" She reached into the bowl and did so, "And smear it on like this."

She spread the creamy face mask onto her cheeks and dabbed her nose and forehead with the stuff until her face was completely covered. There were 'ooh's and 'ah's from the girls and they all followed Kagome's example, except Kikyo who felt it unnecessary to improve the complexion of her skin since she was dead.

"Everyone done? Great, now just relax for half an hour and wait until the cream hardens. Then we can peel it off." Kagome told them. She lay down on her bed and sighed contently. Kagura, Sango and Ayame flung themselves into their beds and Kikyo hovered above them, sniggering at how ridiculous they looked.

Just then, a loud banging on the door was heard and Inuyasha's voice interrupted their relaxation time.

"Hey! Kagome! D'ya have any more Doritos? That mangy wolf ate the last packet!"

Kagome groaned and lifted herself off the bed and went to the kitchenette to search through all the food. She found a large packet of Doritos behind the brownies.

"Yes! We've got one packet!" Kagome called out, reaching in and grabbing it. "You can come in, Inuyasha, the doors open and everyone's decent."

She heard the knob turn. She walked out of the little kitchen and was about to hand him the packet of Doritos when Inuyasha let rip a blood curdling scream. Kagome screamed with him.

"What? What? What is it?" Kagome shrieked. Inuyasha pointed at her face frantically.

"Monster! What have you done to Kagome! I'll kill you!" Inuyasha roared, flexing his claws.

"No, no, no Inuyasha! It's me!"

Inuyasha gasped, "It even has her voice! I'll destroy you for taking Kagome's body!" He was about to leap into the air when he spotted the other girls staring at all the commotion. He yelled in fright.

"Oh no! It's got you all too!" Inuyasha cried. The packet of Doritos lay forgotten on the floor and Inuyasha continued with his ramblings of body snatching demons until Kagome gave up trying to explain and decided to settle everything once and for all.

"Inuyashaaaa…"

Inuyasha pointed a mocking finger at her and smirked. "Ha-ha! You're not the _real_ Kagome so you can't say-"

"OSUWARIIIIIII!"

SMASH!

"Damn." Said Inuyasha into the floor. When the force of the spell had worn of, he picked himself off the floor and demanded an explanation which Kagome graciously provided him with, adding a few more 'sit's here and there.

"So…" began Inuyasha as he got up from the floor once again, "that stuff on yer face is actually to make ya look pretty? I don't think you've got enough on then, Kagome."

Kagome's eye began to twitch and instead of sending him to the floor again she stomped over to the mixing bowl – which was half full – and scooped out a handful of the cream. She bagn to slowly stride up to the confused hanyou.

"Uhhh…Kagome? What are you doing?" He asked anxiously.

"I'm gonna make you pretty." She grinned. And before Inuyasha could turn and run, his face had been smothered with cucumber freshness and Kagome was squealing in triumph. He spluttered and wiped some of the cream from his eyes. He growled angrily and was starting to retaliate but Kagome dragged him to the sofa and sat him down, forcing him to relax and go through with the half an hour wait.

"Come on, Inuyasha, just sit and unwind for a moment. You can even go to sleep if you want."

Inuyasha gradually ceased his growling and slowly closed his eyes.

"There, see? You just-"

A loud snore escaped Inuyasha's lips and Kagome stared at him in surprise. "That was fast."

Kagura had gotten out of her bed to gawp at the hanyou in the beauty mask and burst out laughing, but Kagome shushed her for fear of waking him up because a sleep deprived Inuyasha was a grumpy one.

There was another knock at the door.

"What's going on in there hanyou? Everyone heard you screaming so they made me come over and see." Came Naraku's voice from the other side of the door. Kagura and Kagome looked at each other, the same plan formulating in each of their minds. Kagome nodded and Kagura went to grab some cream. Kikyo hovered above them and finally understood what they were about to pull off. When Kagura positioned herself beside the door, Kikyo decided to linger around the mixing bowl for a while.

"Helloooo? Inuyashaaaa?...Kagura, are you in there? Is anyone in there?" Naraku called out. Kagura, with her free hand turned the knob carefully and whipped open the door, she raised the glob of cream above her head and-

SPLAT!

Naraku coughed and bent over, bringing his hands up to his face.

Kagura looked at him in confusion and back at her hand, which still held the blob of beauty cream. She heard a snigger from the other side of the suite and their was Kikyo, bobbing up and down in the air, her hand dripping with excess cream. So…

Kagome led the half blind Naraku to the sofa and explained how soft his skin would be in half an hour. Naraku lightened up considerably at that.

Kagura shrugged. She had wanted to be the one to pelt him with cream but obviously Kikyo had gotten there first. She walked away from the doorway and went to dump the glob from her hand into the bowl. She turned her head and sighed. She'd forgotten to close the door.

Sesshoumaru was striding past their room at that moment and glanced inside as he went. He paused and took one step back to stare for longer.

Kagura gazed at him, then at the blob of cream and grinned like a maniac.

Sesshoumaru stepped into the room. He caught sight of Inuyasha _and_ Naraku lying back on the sofa with some kind of…Sesshoumaru sniffed the air…cucumber puree on their faces. He noticed Kagura march up to him and he could smell that cucumber aroma off her face. He looked down at her disapprovingly but she, in turn, grinned at him mischievously and held up her cream-filled hand. He glared at her, with his eyes forbidding her to carry out the action he was certain she would carry out.

"Don't you dare." He said icily.

"Oh wouldn't I?" She grinned and raised her arm but Sesshoumaru caught it swiftly.

Kagura was getting impatient. She wanted to see him covered in cream!

Kouga barged in, asking for the packet of Doritos that were long since forgotten. Ayame shot out from her bed and led him to the mixing bowl, spinning him some tale about making a cucumber flavour dessert and would he like to try some? Kouga was considering his reply but before he could say anything, Ayame had grabbed his hair and shoved his face into the beauty cream. He protested greatly but Ayame pleaded with him until he eventually yielded and plonked himself onto the floor.

"Come on, Sesshoumaru, you arrogant ass, it's good for your skin!" Kagura said convincingly.

"My skin is already perfect. I have no need for useless, feminine beauty products." He replied, his voice void of all emotion. Kagura tried to wriggle her arm from his grasp but it proved futile.

Miroku knocked on the open door and complained about being the only one left in his room. He gawped at the cream covered people in the room and was about to head out when Sango decided that she owed him a punishment for flirting with those wretched ballet dancers, even if he hadn't admitted to it yet.

"Oh houshiii!"

"Yes?" Miroku said, turning around. Sango slapped him in the face.

"That's for not telling me the truth about the dancers yesterday."

"But Sango! I was telling the…but, what's this? My face!" Miroku cried. He realised Sango's hand had not been empty.

Kagura was still attempting to bring Sesshoumaru down, but he refused to succumb to her creamy punishment.

"But don't you want to make your face look _even more_ perfect?"

"We both know it's impossible to do that." He replied in a way that made Kagura's anger and desire to smother him in cream increase. She felt his grip on her arm loosen a tad. She smirked.

"Nothing's impossible, you overconfident narcissist!" She screamed, and wrenching out of his grasp, she rubbed the cream in his surprised face. He coughed and spluttered, spitting out the drops of cream that had found their way into his mouth. He shot her a piercing glare.

"You insolent-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever." She muttered and putting her hands on his shoulders guided him over to the sofa and forced him down on it.

"Look, your brother isn't complaining! Maybe he's not as babyish as you are." She pointed out, knowing this would touch a nerve.

"I am nothing like that half-"

"U-huh, yeah sure." She mumbled and pushed him back, making him rest against the back of the sofa.

Ooo

Everyone slept soundly that night, even Miroku. When the cream had been finally peeled off their faces, Naraku was the first one to race to the bathroom and peer at his reflection in the mirror, running his hand over his skin.

"So soft!" He sighed.

Even Sesshoumaru had nothing to complain about when he discovered that Kagura had been right in saying that his skin would feel even softer than before. Inuyasha and Kouga were for once united in their grumblings about silly, girly feeling faces and Miroku had continuously rubbed his cheek, sighing and wondering if this was what Sango's skin felt like. The girls had felt refreshed and rejuvenated, ready for the contest and prepared for anything.

They all awoke the next morning feeling a little nervous of course, they had breakfast and set out for the dance academy along with the rest of the dancers they would have to compete against. As she climbed the steps Kagome realised with a jolt that she would be competing against all her friends, not working with them. She glanced at Sango and Miroku's content expressions and then at Inuyasha's nervous one. She smiled at him and placed a hand one his shoulder. He looked down at her hand in surprise and looked at her with a slight blush. He smiled back. At least she would have him at her side…always.

A/N: Phew! Nice and long to make up for the wait. The dance contest is on the next chapter, but I'm not sure when it will be up since my parents have set up the 'half an hour on the computer' regime. Don't forget to read and review!


	24. Shall We Dance?

Thank you so much to all those who reviewed! lalalalala2, HanyouCrazy411, electricdragon, ranchan23, Cela Andrómeda, Sesshomaru girl 101, blackfphoenix ( I recommend my ones! XD), InuSessyloverforeva and all you anonymous reviewers too! Sorry I've taken so long, blame it on laziness and heat. Believe me, at a computer in a small room on a boiling hot day isn't what I prefer to do but the posting of this chapter has been nagging away at my mind for quite a while.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my bats and a cabbage. Oh, I'm a sad, sad person.

**Chapter 24: Shall We Dance?**

As they entered the reception area their eyes were attacked by swarms of colour and intensity. The Academy was wonderfully decorated for the occasion with swathes of coloured cloth hanging from the ceiling and flags from all over the world strung along the walls and a huge banner that said,

'INTERNATIONAL DANCE CULTURE WEEK…The world at your feet.'

Excited dance students were scurrying here and there and there was a general buzz of activity in the room. After Kagome stopped gawping at the decorations, she spotted Mr Tippytoes skipping along holding a vase of red roses. He was wearing a bright orange tuxedo with a much too dressy shirt that flared out at the collar and cuffs. Kagome had a hard time not noticing him and Inuyasha complained about being blinded by the brightness of the orange. Mr Tippytoes saw them and bounced over, spilling droplets of water from the vase.

"Welcome back! I'm tho happy to thee you!' Mr Tippytoes squealed. Kagome smiled nervously. "Right, now let me explain what you have to do today. You don't need to go to your danthe roomth, jutht be in the ballroom over there," he gestured with his free hand, "where there are changing roomth and everything. You're outfith will be handed to you ath you enter, jutht thtate your name to get them. Okay, that'th it, I think."

Kagome was looking even more nervous than before. She would have to perform in around two hours or so and it seemed to have only just sunk in. Her stomach was tying itself up in knots and her palms were all sweaty, she looked at Inuyasha and judging by his terrified expression, he was feeling exactly the same way. Mr Tippytoes moved a rose around in the vase.

"What are those for?" Kagome asked, trying to take her mind off what was soon to happen. Mr Tippytoes smiled.

"It'th jutht a final touch that I'm going to add to the judgeth table. It lookth so plain without a bit of colour." He said, sniffing the roses happily. Kagome gulped. The judges. She'd forgotten about them, now she felt worse than before.

"Well, I mutht be off! I wish you all very good luck in the contetht!" Mr Tippytoes cried as he danced his way to the ballroom. Kagome breathed a shaky sigh.

"We'd better get going then." She said. She led the way to the ballroom and marvelled at its grandness when she arrived. There was a spectacular chandelier hanging from the ceiling, giving out soft light to everyone below, the room was surrounded by velvety blue curtains and Kagome guessed the changing rooms were behind them because people emerged from the curtains ready dressed in their costumes. She looked around, there was no platform or stage, as she had expected. It was just a normal…well, ballroom. There was a great area of floor for the performers and the judges table was situated at one end of the room, behind it, more than two hundred chairs were placed for the audience. Kagome heard Inuyasha gulp. She led the way to the curtains and searched for the gap through which they would need to pass. A dancer stepped out of the curtain and Kagome quickly passed through, holding it open for the others to get in. There was a whole network of changing rooms behind them, people bustled around, some dressed, others not and many were having some last minute practice before the competition. Kagome spotted the two short, stocky women who had measured them two days before, handing out plastic packages to the dance students as they passed. Kagome led the others through the crowd of dancers and towards the two women.

"Well, this is it. We have to get our clothes here, then we get changed in one of the vacant rooms along these corridors," She explained. "I just want to wish you guys luck in the contest and remember, it doesn't matter who wins as long as we have fun participating. Okay?"

There was a murmur of an answer from everyone. Kagome neared herself to one of the two women.

"Name?"

"Higurashi, Kagome."

Kagome was given her bundle of clothes wrapped and plastic and carried on walking to search for a vacant changing room. She heard the others behind her. She turned to look.

"Name?"

"Uh…Inuyasha."

Inuyasha was handed his package. He glanced around shiftily and bent down to whisper something in the squat lady's ear. The woman nodded and handed him another package. Before Kagome could even open her mouth to question his actions she heard a shout of 'who needs this room?' to which she answered, "Me! I do!" and her intended question was forgotten.

Ooo

"Kagome? Ain't ya ready yet?"

"I've just gotta do my hair! Wait a minute!"

"Jeez! I was done aaaaaages ago!"

"Okay! Finished!"

Kagome stepped out of the changing room and gasped at Inuyasha's outfit. She was amazed at how he had managed to dress himself properly without need of extra help. He stared back at her.

"Kagome, you…er…that's…um…" He stuttered. Kagome blushed a little and nodded, saving him the trouble of going through hell trying to compliment her. Inuyasha grinned.

Kagome closed the door of her dressing room and suddenly remembered the other package that Inuyasha had received earlier.

"Inuyasha, what was that pack-"

"Hey, Kagome is that yer mum?" Inuyasha said, rather quickly as he poked his head out the curtain. And sure enough, Mrs Higurashi's voice was heard in the ballroom. Kagome immediately rushed to Inuyasha's side to peer through the gap in the velvety material.

"Kagomeeee! Honey, where are you?" She called. And behind her, Kagome spotted Shippou, Kanna and Hakudoushi. All three of them were wearing brightly coloured dungarees and tennis shoes and were trailing along, gasping and pointing here and there.

"Mama!" Kagome cried, sticking an arm out and waving it around to get her mother's attention. Mrs Higurashi caught sight of her and went over.

"My, Kagome, isn't this exciting?" she exclaimed, grabbing a hold of Shippou's hand to make him stop bouncing up and down. Kagome nodded.

"This is filling up with people. I'm going to be in the front row, so I can see my baby perform right up close!" Mrs Higurashi said happily. Kagome blushed and tried to shush her. Mrs Higurashi continued, "I suppose that's where you'll be sitting?" she pointed to one end of the ballroom where more chairs had been recently placed and a sign standing in front that read 'Dancers'. Kagome guessed that they were put there while she had been changing because she hadn't seen them before. Mrs Higurashi turned away from Kagome for a moment then looked back at her.

"Okay, honey. I have to go now. Don't look so nervous, you'll do fine sweetie!" She planted a kiss on her daughter's pale cheek. She turned to Inuyasha. "Good luck, Inuyasha dear." She said encouragingly. She went to her seat, dragging Shippou and a disgruntled Hakudoushi and Kanna along after her.

"Good luck Kagome!" squealed Shippou. Kagome smiled and drew her head back in. She was very nervous, her stomach was doing back flips and she had a strong urge to go and throw up, but she had come this far and she couldn't let her mum down. She heard Inuyasha breath a sigh. She gazed up at him.

"What are you starin' at?" He growled. But instead of it sounding like a threat, it seemed to be a plea due to the nerves affecting his vocal chords. There was quite a lot of noise coming from the audience not to mention from the dancers behind the curtains. Kagome heard the whine of the microphone, and an 'ahem', the general babble lessened and all was silent.

"Welcome to Tippytoeth danth academy! I'm Mr Tippytoeth, your hotht for thith evening and I would jutht like to thay…"

Kagome was nibbling at her bottom lip nervously and she could feel Inuyasha's leg twitching uncontrollably. She was so nervous that she paid little attention to Mr Tippytoes' speech and she only concentrated on keeping the urge to puke under control. She craned her neck to look around for the others but it was so dimly lit behind those curtains that she could only make out moving shadows. She began to wring her hands anxiously, she didn't even know when she and Inuyasha would be on, Mr Tippytoes hadn't mentioned any order of performance. She supposed that they would be called up or something.

"…Thank you for coming and I hope you will enjoy the show!" Mr Tippytoes cried.

There was a round of applause and a few cheers. Kagome's stomach gave an unpleasant lurch, she clung to Inuyasha and he was too nervous to bother brushing her away. This was it, they had been practicing a whole week for this and they were finally here. The applause died down and there was another squeal of the mike. Mr Tippytoes' excited voice echoed through the ballroom.

"Our firtht performanth tonight…a bit of India for uth all from Bindi and Taj!"

There was some more applause. Kagome breathed out in relief as she realised she wouldn't be the opening act. And she watched the two Indian dancers pushed their way through the curtains. Their music floated around the whole room and they began to dance. Kagome snuck a peek at them through a gap in the curtain.

"Wow! They're good! Look at all those coloured sashes they're waving around!" Kagome whispered. Inuyasha was too busy cracking his knuckles nervously to notice. Kagome's eyes roamed the rest of the room. She saw the five judges sitting at their table, scribbling in their score cards. Her stomach gave another lurch. "The judges." She breathed. They all looked very…old. The youngest one seemed to be no less than sixty. There was only one women and she had a small pince nez perched on the bridge of her crooked nose. She looked about ninety. Kagome pulled her head back in. Her heart was drumming in her chest and she had even begun to think this whole thing a stupid idea. If she had known she'd be this nervous she would never had entered the silly competition!

"Hey, Kagome. Ya ain't thinking of backin' out are ya?" Inuyasha grinned. "Cus that's what cowards like Naraku do. An' I don't think yer the kind to give up, or are ya?"

Kagome's nerves lessened at his words and she smiled at him.

"Anyways, we got a chance of beatin' Naraku now, an' this time he can't cheat." He said, nudging Kagome with his elbow. Kagome sighed. He was always thinking of defeating Naraku at every moment. The Indian music ended, the audience applauded loudly and the couple went to sit in the 'Dancers' section for the rest of the contest. Mr Tippytoes took the mike again.

"A little bit of lively, Latin American beat now, performed by danthe thtudenth; Miroku and Thangoooo!"

Kagome squealed and clapped while Inuyasha stood with his mouth open. She tried to catch sight of them but her view was obscured by a large man in Russian clothing standing beside her. Kagome felt a little disappointed but she finally saw them both as they stepped out onto the dance floor. They looked surprised to have been called out so soon, it seemed, by the expressions on their faces. Miroku was dressed in a loose, dark purple shirt with the first three buttons undone, black trousers held up with a sleek leather belt and on his feet, highly polished black shoes. Sango looked stunning in a pink and black sequinned Salsa-style dress. It had one strap holding it up at her left shoulder and fit the top part of her body snugly flaring out in a slightly ruffled fashion just above her knees. She wore opaque tights that showed off her toned legs and her dancing shoes were black and closed, with low heels. Her hair was done up in a high ponytail and it sparkled under the pale light of the chandelier. Miroku seemed to be having a hard time keeping his eyes off her, not that she minded much.

"Is that Sango?" Inuyasha said incredulously but Kagome shushed him by flapping her hands around as the music started.

The music was dynamic and bursting with rhythm, and so were the two dancing it. Their movements were quick but well executed and even though they were as nervous as hell, nothing caused the smiles to wipe off their faces. Sango performed an almost perfect under arm turn, Miroku led it like a professional and they travelled the dance floor in sync, as if they were both part of one body.

Kagome 'ooh'ed and 'aah'ed, she had never seen the two of them like that without it ending up with Miroku on the floor, rubbing at a red handprint on his face. She could see that Miroku was enjoying this but funnily enough, she noticed that Sango was probably feeling the same. Inuyasha only grunted when the two performed a particularly complicated turn, thinking that he and Kagome could do better. Kagome tugged at his sleeve.

"Look!"

Miroku had thrust Sango away, only their hands kept them joined together, and Sango stretched out her free arm into a pose and as quickly as she had been pushed away she twirled back into the position she had been in before. It was a spectacular move and the audience loved it. Kagome saw the judges put their heads together to discuss something and then they went back to their score cards. The music ended and so did Miroku and Sango with a final spin on the dance floor that immediately morphed into their concluding pose. The audience went wild and Kagome could distinctly make out her mother's encouraging cheers. Miroku and Sango beamed and after waving at the crowd, they tiredly walked over to their seats to catch their breath. Mr Tippytoes announce the next performance, a Line Dancing couple dressed in matching white cowboy outfits dotted with sparkling rhinestones.

Sango fanned herself with her hand and glanced at Miroku, who was doing the same.

"Well, at least that's over with." Sango panted. Miroku nodded and a bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face. They both watched the line dancers kick up in their cowboy boots and stomp their way across the dance floor. Miroku continuously glanced at Sango and opened his mouth, hesitated, then closed it again and went back to observing the line dancing couple. He began to fan himself again.

He paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

"Sango…" He began, and she glanced at him.

"Yes houshi-sama?"

"I just want to say…you look…absolutely…amazing." Miroku finished breathlessly.

"Where are your hands?" Sango said suspiciously. Miroku held them up innocently. Sango smiled. "I guess I can take that as a compliment, houshi-sama and not an excuse to grope me."

Miroku put on a hurt expression. "Is that what you think of me Sango? I am ashamed."

"Ashamed my a-"

Miroku held up a hand to silence her as Mr Tippytoes got hold of the mike. After the applause died down and the line dancing couple had taken their seats, Mr Tippytoes once again captured the attention of everyone in the room.

"yeth, now ladieth and gentlemen, we're off to the emerald island tonight with Ayame and Kouga and their riverdanthe!" he cried.

Miroku and Sango clapped loudly. Miroku inclined his head towards Sango's.

"What's riverdance?" he whispered, but Sango had an equally confused expression. They watched the curtain move and Kouga and Ayame burst out none too elegantly and it seemed that Kouga was complaining about his name being called out after Ayame's. He soon shut up though, catching sight of the vast audience and the table where the judges sat at. Almost at once their music started, it was a vigorous Irish melody which soon had everyone's toes tapping. Kouga began to dance, his feet moving lightly across the room and his shoes made slight tapping sounds as they made contact with the floor. He was wearing rather tight black trousers with a dark green waistband and a loose emerald green shirt with cuffs and collar undone. He had changed his headband from brown to green and the look suited him well. Ayame was looking lovely, with a short black and green sparkly Irish dress, sheer black tights and shiny black dancing shoes with silver buckles. All in all, they made a pretty pair.

Kouga then dropped down on one knee and held out his hand, which Ayame took and she danced around him, her shoes making clacking sounds that added to the wonderful Irish tune. Kouga stood up and commenced his sequence, kicking up every so often and Ayame finished it doing exactly what he did.

Miroku and Sango watched on in amazement, who had known the little wolf could move so well?

"Would you guyth like thomething to drink?" enquired a lispy voice. Sango and Miroku glanced over to the side where Mr Tippytoes was standing, clutching two bottles of mineral water. They received them gratefully and took large gulps to quench their thirst. Mr Tippytoes bent down closer.

"I mutht thay, you danthed rather well! I think the judgeth were extremely pleathed with your performanth." He told them, with a note of excitement in his tone. Sango and Miroku looked at each other and beamed and as Mr Tippytoes left to pass a few bottles of water to the other dancers, Miroku took hold Sango's hand and surprisingly, she didn't hit him.

Ooo

"Keh! We're so gonna do better than that! The mangy wolf don't even know how to walk let alone dance!" Inuyasha growled.

"Oh, Inuyasha they're not all that bad. Look, the judges seem to like them." Kagome pointed out. Inuyasha scoffed and pouted and Kagome sighed. She just hoped the judges would like hers and Inuyasha's performance. She peeked through the curtain again and spotted Sango and Miroku. She let out a small, but audible gasp and began to tug on Inuyasha's sleeve.

"Inuyasha!"

"What?"

"Look! Sango and Miroku are holding hands!"

"Keh! So the monk got lucky today, what's that gotta do with me?"

"Inuyasha! You are impossible!"

"Deal with it! Yer stuck with me anyway!"

"Inuyashaaaa…Osuw-"

Inuyasha cringed and braced himself for the impact that never came. He sneaked one look at Kagome's face and found that her attention was now centred on Mr Tippytoes who had taken possession of the mike and was waiting for Kouga and Ayame to sit down.

"Kagome what are ya-"

"Shhhh! We could be next!" She whispered hoarsely. There was a squeal of the mike and the sound of a throat being cleared.

"Great performathe there by Kouga and Ayame!"

Kouga put on a smug expression upon hearing that his name had been called out before Ayame's.

"I hope you're all ready to go back in time, becauthe it'th Inuyasha and Kagome with their fiftieth jive!" he exclaimed.

Kagome stomach felt like it was bungee jumping with her intestines and she heard a loud gulp from Inuyasha's part.

"Inuyasha, this is it." She said in a small voice. Inuyasha simply nodded, as though afraid that if he were to open his mouth, he would be immediately sick. Kagome's jaw set in determination and she reached out for the curtain. Taking Inuyasha's hand she stepped out onto the dance floor and into the light. The two of them were greeted with applause (and cheers from Shippou and Mrs Higurashi). Inuyasha's hand was cold and sweaty but Kagome didn't let go of it for a second, also wondering why he hadn't protested against her holding it in the first place.

Kagome caught sight of the judges but was determined not to let their presence faze her and hoped Inuyasha was thinking likewise. She glanced over to the 'Dancers' section and was comforted by Miroku and Sango's encouraging waves, even Kouga winked at her in support…or cockiness, she wasn't sure.

She heard Inuyasha take in a shaky breath and she turned her head towards him.

"Well Inuyasha?" she whispered.

"Well what?" he said in what seem to be a growly whine.

"…Shall we dance?"

A/N: hope you liked it. There wasn't much funny in here because it was supposed to be a tense situation. Okay I was just lazy. It is absolutely stifling in here, but I had to finish this chappie for all you lovely readers! Don't forget to R and R! Kyuuketsuki-san says thank you.


	25. And The Winner Is

Hey ppls! I'm sorry for taking so long but school's started, so…well you know what I mean, less time to update. Anyone who reads my profile will know how I'm going with my stories. And I've just been lumbered with a ginormous mega massive philosophy project as well as reading five books in less than two months. So I'll just update when I can 'kay? Thanks for all the reviews; blackfphoenix, HayLin4, Inu-chan's luver, Viperthe strange (Hojo the hobo? Hehehe), lalalalala2, ranchan23, Kiwi-San, Kelley-Sama, crasiness, Kracken l.w (I think crazy fan girls are a good idea : evil grin:), Sesshomaru girl 101, death88, HanyouCrazy411, Kei-Ookami.kara.mori, electricdragon, loverinuyasha, coolmarauders, inukag101, Cela Andromeda, InuSessyloverforeva, Gin Amaya, Lady Kagewaki. Love yas all!

Disclaimer: I wouldn't be here writing this if I owned Inuyasha. I'd be lazing around in my mansion and swimming in pools of money.

**Chapter 25: And the Winner is…**

Inuyasha and Kagome looked as though they had stepped right out of the movie Grease. Kagome wore a cream coloured sticky out skirt that just reached her knees, a white blouse and over it, a pale yellow cardigan. Her hair was done in a high pony tail and tied with a pale yellow ribbon. The only word to describe her would have been…sweet. Inuyasha, on the other hand looked like the typical bad boy from the fifties with his leather jacket and red t-shirt underneath, a crimson bandana on his head and jeans that were ripped in places. Kagome took Inuyasha's hand and led him to the centre of the dance floor, smiling nervously at the judges at the same time.

Their music played, an upbeat fifties jive that made everyone want to smile and click their fingers to the rhythm. They soon began to dance, Kagome bounced along and Inuyasha followed her, legs bent and swinging his clicking fingers side to side.

Miroku leaned over and put his head next to Sango's.

"My, I'm surprised Inuyasha agreed to go along with this." Miroku whispered and Sango nodded. She glanced at Mrs Higurashi sitting in the audience and smiled when she saw her eyes brimming with tears of pride. Shippou was bouncing up and down yelling squeakily his support. Kanna and Hakudoushi looked as though bored out of their minds and Kohaku…was nowhere to be seen. Sango frowned, where could her little brother be? She hadn't seen Mrs Higurashi come in with him. What if he was lost? These were modern times, completely different from the feudal era and no place for a small boy to be wandering around. Sango began to worry if Mrs Higurashi had somehow lost him. Her thoughts were interrupted by Miroku nudging her with his elbow and pointing at the couple on the dance floor.

"Look!"

Kagome had crouched down behind Inuyasha and stretched out her arms through his spread legs. He grasped her hands and pulled her out, she jumped to her feet and Inuyasha swung her round his left side and then again on his right side. He held her by the waist and she place her hands on his shoulders, he then thrust her up into the air and all of the audience held their breath as Kagome began her descent, landing safely in Inuyasha's outstretched arms, receiving a roar of applause from the crowd. Kagome was too relieved that he hadn't dropped her like the last time to notice.

Miroku and Sango gawped.

"Is that better than ours, do you think?" Sango asked. Miroku didn't answer. Kouga scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Pfffft! That mutt thinks he'll get first prize just cos he threw my woman in the air. Well it ain't gonna happen!" He growled. Ayame patted him on the arm.

"Aw, c'mon Kouga, you have to admit, that was a great move." She said. Kouga stared at her incredulously.

"Ayame!" He whined in a childlike fashion, "I thought you were on my side!"

Another round of applause indicated the end of the performance and Inuyasha and Kagome-chests heaving and faces shiny with perspiration- bowed to the crowd and to the judges. Mrs Higurashi's tearful sounding voice could just be heard above the clapping saying 'Well done baby!'. Mr Tippytoes took up the mike when Inuyasha and Kagome had made their way to their seats and he announced the performance to come; a couple dancing reggae.

Inuyasha and Kagome threw themselves into the two available seats next to Sango and Miroku.

"Well done! That was great!" Sango congratulated. Kagome smiled weakly and struggled to answer.

"_pant pant_ thanks _pant pant_ a lot _pant pant _Sango!" she gasped.

"_pant pant_ yeah _pant pant _Sango _pant pant pant _thanks." Inuyasha wheezed, wiping a bead of sweat that threatened to trickle into his eye. Miroku grinned at them sympathetically and handed them a bottle of water. Kouga, who sat in the row behind, leaned forward and tapped Inuyasha on the shoulder. Inuyasha turned around in his seat to look at him.

"Whaddya want wolf boy?" He growled. Kouga fixed him with the dirtiest look he could muster.

"Just because you throw my Kagome around like you would that rusty sword of yours, doesn't mean you're gonna win this thing. When _I_ win the contest _and_ Kagome, I'll treat her the way she deserves to be treated, got that, mutt face?" Kouga snarled, never taking his eyes of Inuyasha for a second. Inuyasha seemed to puff up with rage; he clenched his hands into fists and pointed a finger in Kouga's face.

"Kagome will never be yers, ya mangy wolf! And think again about winnin' the contest, me and Kagome are gonna get first prize anyway. You and wolf girl don't stand a chance!" Inuyasha snapped. Kouga stood to his feet, as did Inuyasha and they growled in each other's faces. Kagome tugged on the sleeve of Inuyasha's leather jacket to grab his attention.

"Inuyasha!" She hissed, "Stop that right now!" Inuyasha ignored her and merely shook his sleeve out of her grasp.

"Whaddya mean me and wolf girl don't stand a chance? Our performance was the best!" Kouga growled.

"Keh! What, with that stupid sissy dancin'? Purlease!" Inuyasha scoffed, and did a crude imitation of Kouga kicking his legs up with his hands on his hips. Kouga burned with a mixture of embarrassment and fury.

"Hey! I didn't do it like that! Stop it!" Kouga hissed, but Inuyasha continue to wiggle in an outrageously comical way.

"Ooooh look at me! I'm a sissy wolf boy dancin' and I think I'm gonna win the competition! Kagome's gonna love me if I waggle my legs around like this!" Inuyasha said, in a high pitched tone and he did exactly what he said, jiggle his legs about. Kagome had her head in her hands and positively melted with humiliation. Why was he doing this in a room FULL OF PEOPLE? Some were beginning to stare, diverting their attention from the reggae dancers to the 'discussion' between the Irish dancer and the bad boy from the fifties.

Kagome tried tugging at Inuyasha's sleeve again, harder this time but he only pulled it out of her grip. Kouga was positively red with anger.

"Grrrrr! Well… at least I don't wear a stupid girly hanky on _my_ head!" Kouga cried, pointing at the bandanna Inuyasha was wearing.

"Sissy dance, sissy dance, lalalalala-Eh? This ain't no girly hanky!" Inuyasha responded angrily. Kouga grinned triumphantly.

"Isn't that what village women wear?" Kouga sneered. Inuyasha spluttered and choked.

"No! It's called a 'bandanna'. But you wouldn't know that, baka!" Inuyasha said in a strangled voice.

"Inuyasha, shhhhh!" Kagome said in a harsh undertone. He ignored her once again.

"Bandanna, hanky, baby blanket, whatever. It still_ looks_ like something that the Jakotsu guy would definitely approve of." Kouga retorted. Inuyasha gasped loudly and coughed, having inhaled air so sharply that he had almost suffocated on it. Kouga smirked, knowing he had touched a nerve.

"Don't mention that freaky little shit ever again!" Inuyasha snarled as soon as he had recovered.

"_Inuyasha be quiet!_" Kagome whispered urgently.

"What, you mean _Jakotsu_? I thought you liked _Jakotsu_. He seemed very fond of you, that _Jakotsu_." Kouga said annoyingly, putting extra emphasis on the name. Inuyasha gnashed his teeth and closed his eyes, because if he caught that infuriating smirk on Kouga's face, nothing would stop him from tearing the wolf limb from limb.

"I also remember him saying you were_ cute_!" Inuyasha growled. Kouga stiffened.

"Yeah, he did, but you're the only one he gave his heart to!" Kouga replied with a sneer.

"Shut the fuck up!" Inuyasha shrieked, pointing a finger at him. Kouga chortled loudly. More people began to stare at them and even Mr Tippytoes showed a little interest. Kagome was well aware of the attention they were receiving.

"Inuyasha, please-" she began.

"Well, I ain't got no ass wipes following me all the time, trying to win yer affection." Inuyasha snapped. Kouga looked at him sternly.

"What do you mean?"

"Inuyasha, shush!" Kagome interrupted.

"Aw c'mon yer dumber than I thought. Ginta and Hakkaku, man those two are kinda freaky if ya ask me." Inuyasha smirked. Kouga glared at him fiercely.

"I don't know what goes through your dirty mind and well, I don't really_ wanna _know." Kouga answered sharply. Inuyasha growled loudly.

"Inuyasha, just stop it!" Kagome said. Inuyasha looked at her as though she had appeared from thin air.

"Kagome, I can win this round! Mangy wolf won't beat me!" Inuyasha protested. Kagome shook her head and glared at him firmly.

"Heh. Kagome, I don't think you should keep talking to this dog anymore. He might put dirty ideas into your pretty head." Kouga commented. Inuyasha snarled and completely forgot about Kagome for the moment.

"What that hell are ya sayin'! She's better off with me anyhow; I can't let her hang around with those freaks, Ginta and Hakkaku! Now _they_ might get funny ideas!"

"Inuyashaaaa-" Kagome started. Inuyasha waved a hand at her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm almost finished." He muttered, and focused his attention on Kouga. "I don't even wanna know what you three get up to in those dark caves you take shelter in!"

Koga gasped in outrage. "We just sleep in the caves!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and smirked. "Yeah right, 'sleep'.

"Inuyashaaaaaaaaaa-" Kagome warned, getting angrier by the minute. Inuyasha made flapping gestures with his hands.

"In a sec!" He whined, "And anyway, what's with that outfit? Looks three sizes too small to me."

Kouga began to tremble with anger but Inuyasha continued, "And _green_? It makes you look as though you've been sick all over it!"

Kagome felt peoples stares burn into her back and resorted to the only thing that would be able to Inuyasha, room full of humans or not. She took a deep breath.

"Inuyasha! Osuw-" she started but Inuyasha winced and sat down immediately, before she could even finish saying the word.

"Okay, I'm done." He said quickly. Kouga was left standing and shaking with barely suppressed fury and only sat down after Ayame gently coaxed him to. Kagome let out a sigh of relief and then shot a sharp look at Inuyasha who challenged her gaze.

"What? I had it under control!" He snapped. Kagome 'hmph'ed and she stuck her nose into the air.

Slowly but surely, the audience's stares left them and everyone watched the Reggae performance as it ended.

"Wow! That wath great wathn't it?" cried Mr Tippytoes enthusiastically into the mike when the dancers had taken their seats. There were cheers from the audience and another bout of applause. Mr Tippytoes glanced at the programme in his hand for a moment and then spoke.

"Another trip to thouth America now, ath we enjoy a passionate, Argentinean Tango performed by Naraku and Kikyo!" he yelled excitedly and he began to clap. Kagome gasped and she heard a 'Keh!' from the hanyou beside her, not to mention a low growl coming from Kouga in the row behind.

Naraku and Kikyo emerged from the velvety curtain and took their positions in the centre of the dance floor. Naraku looked, well…very attractive in his black suit, black, silky shirt and purple silk tie. He had shiny black dancing shoes and for the ultimate finishing touch; a black velvety gangster style hat set at an angle on his head, his long black hair loose down his back. Kagome could have sworn he was one of the actors in those old, Italian mafia movies she had seen. She looked around the ballroom and noticed that many of the other young women in the audience approved of Naraku's attire; by the way they were absentmindedly drooling into their laps. She shook her head, sighing loudly.

Kikyo wore a simple red tight but not too tight dress held up by fine straps. The dress reached her knees with a small side slit that revealed only a bit of her thigh. Her hair was tied back with a scarlet, satin ribbon and her shoes were black, simple but classic Tango dancing shoes, closed and strapped above the ankle. She glared reproachfully at Naraku who seemed to be enjoying all the attention he was receiving which came in forms of certain undergarments. Mr Tippytoes flapped his hands about urgently to grab one of the guards' attention and soon three or four uniformed men were hastening to clear away thongs, bras and cotton panties from the dance floor. The cheering gradually subsided and the dance space was free, Naraku and Kikyo took their starting positions and waited for the music to start. Kagome grinned when she saw a fleeting look of discomfort on Kikyo's face when Naraku placed his hand in the small of her back.

The Tango began, Naraku and Kikyo performed the classic tango walk, curving slightly to the left and their feet moved swiftly across the dance floor. The music was ardent to say the least, and so were the couple dancing it, Naraku was a natural.

Kagome heard Inuyasha growl and mutter, he seemed to feel somewhat torn between complimenting Kikyo and beating the crap out of Naraku. Kagome patted his arm to calm him down a little and she felt him stiffen. He looked at her.

"Sorry. I still say we're gonna win." Inuyasha mumbled, but less convincingly this time.

Naraku was surprised at how much he was enjoying himself. He loved the attention, everyone's eyes were on him and he could see that even the judges looked impressed. He saw the ninety year old woman staring at him with shiny eyes and he almost chuckled to himself. He had them all under his spell…the power felt amazing. Naraku spotted the vase of red roses on the judges' table and an idea hit him. He began to lead Kikyo out of their original sequence and towards the table. Sway, rise, fall…sway, rise, fall…

"_What are you doing?_" Kikyo hissed through the corner of her mouth. Naraku didn't answer, instead he grinned evilly to himself. Kikyo broke out in cold sweat, what was he going to do?

Naraku reached the judges' table and leaned over. He heard the frail old lady gasp as he bent down and plucked a red rose by the stem from the vase with his teeth. He made sure he had the ninety year old woman's full attention and winked right at her. The poor little old lady swooned and fainted, falling off her seat in the process. The other judges looked down at her and then continued to watch Naraku and Kikyo's performance as though nothing had happened.

Kikyo could of died (again) of relief then, she had honestly believed Naraku was going to somehow decimate the judges or something. Naraku continued to lead, only now, he had a rose held by the stem in his teeth. He twisted it expertly with his tongue and never failed to keep the confident grin plastered on his face.

"Keh! So he has a flower in his mouth, who gives a fuck?" Inuyasha grumbled. Kagome shot him a glare as warning. Inuyasha gulped. "I mean…who gives a phooey?" he said hurriedly. Kagome narrowed her eyes at him dangerously for a while and left it at that.

Kikyo twirled around and faced Naraku, wrapped a leg around his and they both leaned to one side slowly. Then they were back doing the tango walk. Miroku let out a low whistle.

"Hoo…Wish we'd done Tango instead of Salsa." He said wistfully. Sango went crimson.

Next, Naraku walked a few steps backwards and Kikyo thus, walked forward, placing one foot in front of the other, twisting at the waist. This time though…no nut crack, much to Naraku's relief. To end the performance, Naraku spun on his heel, twirled Kikyo around and let her fall, catching her with one arm and holding her approximately three inches from the floor. That was their finishing position and to close, Kikyo reached out took the rose from Naraku's mouth and placed it between her teeth, much to his surprise. She wasn't going to let him hog all the attention.

The audience applauded loudly and there were screams from the women and more underwear thrown before Naraku and Kikyo sat down in the dancers section. Naraku was met with piercing glares from both Inuyasha and Kouga, and a rather thoughtful look from Miroku. Naraku grinned evilly at them and when Kikyo passed him the rose, he threw it at Inuyasha's head.

"Hey!" Inuyasha yelled. Kagome shushed him.

"Listen! The last performance! That's got to be Sesshoumaru and Kagura." Kagome whispered. Inuyasha scoffed and told her plainly that he couldn't care less. Kagome opened her mouth to respond but the squeal of the microphone cut her off. Mr Tippytoes cleared his throat.

"Yeth, very nithe indeed. Coming next, the latht performanthe of the competition." He paused to let the audience go "Awwww!"

"We'll be theeing a traditional waltz from Europe, more thpethifically; Vienna…performed by thesshoumaru and Kagura!"

There was a polite applause to welcome them on. They appeared from behind the curtains and were met with gasps, mostly because of the colour of Sesshoumaru's hair. There had been a few intakes of breath with Inuyasha but because of the bandanna his hair was partly out of view.

Sesshoumaru looked extremely handsome wearing a black tuxedo with tails, a black, smart bowtie, white gloves covering his slender hands and his hair had been tied back in a low ponytail with a black band. His shoes were black and so polished that they reflected the light. He could have been mistaken for a prince of some kind because of the elegance that both his outfit and stance seemed to emanate. Kagura was a picture of pure sophistication, her dress was red and merged into black further down, with sewn in sequined patterns, it was held up at one shoulder and it clung in all the perfect places. The hem reached just above her ankles and was lined with a feathery material, a corner of the hem on one side of the dress was tied to a ring worn on the middle finger of Kagura's left gloved hand. Her hair was done up in a bun and like Sango's, it sparkled when it caught the light and her shoes had a slight heel and were closed.

Sesshoumaru pulled Kagura closer and placed a hand in the small of her back Kagura put a hand on his shoulder and the other in his. The smooth melody of the Waltz commenced and Sesshoumaru began to lead, his head and Kagura's, held high. They performed the typical rise and fall of the waltz and moved gracefully around the dance floor, occasionally twirling around, managing to hypnotise the entire audience, not to mention the judges, with their elegant movements.

The judges put their heads together to quietly discuss this performance and the elderly old lady had recovered and was shakily getting back on her seat. Sesshoumaru's posture was perfect, as was his momentum control; Kagura's positioning and coordination was exemplary, they both flowed with movement and each step was performed with such confidence that only professionals could ever dream of having.

Naraku watched them very closely and narrowed his eyes into slits. He didn't like his incarnation coming into close contact with the Lord of the Western lands, Kagura could be conspiring against him this very minute, and possibly persuading Sesshoumaru to help her. Or they could just be dancing and attempting to impress the judges. Naraku didn't like either option. He wanted to keep control of Kagura _and _win the competition. Kikyo caught glaring at the waltzing couple on the dance floor and smirked, she nudged Naraku in the ribs with her elbow. Naraku jerked in surprise.

"What's the matter Naraku? Trying to keep eye contact so you can jinx them or something?" Kikyo sneered. Naraku looked at her boredly.

"Yes." He replied simply. Kikyo's sneer left her face immediately and she sat back in her seat.

"Oh." She said. Naraku went back to his glaring and Kikyo stayed silent.

In the front row, Inuyasha had his arms crossed and was sinking ever so slowly down his seat. His brother was tough competition. Kagome could see him from the corner of eye and when Sesshoumaru spun Kagura around in a spectacular fashion, Inuyasha made to slide right off his chair and onto the floor. She yanked him back up by the ear and reminded him that it wasn't about the winning; it was the taking part that really counted. Her words brought him little comfort and on top of that, Sesshoumaru lead Kagura across the dance floor in a smooth zigzagging manoeuvre that prompted further discussion between the judges. Inuyasha glared at his brother jealously.

The music ended and Sesshoumaru and Kagura stood in the centre receiving the roar of applause that followed. Neither of them bowed. They both went to take their seats and Sesshoumaru smirked as he passed Inuyasha, who was being patted on the shoulder sympathetically by Kagome.

Mr Tippytoes tapped the mike a few times. The applause died down and the audience waited for him to speak.

"A-hem. Wonderful way to end the danthe competition! I think we should have another round of applauthe for all the partithipant'th!" He cried. He himself clapped loudly and was beaming all over.

"Marvellouth! We will be taking a short break tho that the judgeth can dethide the winner and the runnerth up, in the mean time, pleathe vithit our cafeteria where refreshmenth have been laid out for you to enjoy, complimenth of Tippytoeth danthe academy!"

More claps echoed around the ballroom at the prospect of free food. Kagome nudged Inuyasha.

"Hear that Inuyasha? Eats!"

Inuyasha perked up considerably and couldn't wait to leave. Kagome stood up and the others followed her as she led the way to the cafeteria, and as they walked across the reception to get there, they passed a tall glass cabinet positioned against the wall. Inside on the first shelf was placed a huge trophy in the form of the world and on top stood two miniature dancers, legs bent in some complicated move. On the shelf below, a smaller world shaped trophy and a small, unsealed envelope beside it, half revealing two entries for a health spa. Kagome paused before the show case and marvelled at the size of the magnificent trophy but then Inuyasha began to complain loudly that he was famished so she hurried off to the cafeteria with the rest of the group in her wake.

The refreshments consisted of small cups of ramen and soft drinks. Each cup had a coloured rim depending on its flavour, not that Inuyasha needed to know because he could tell immediately with his nose. He grabbed a cup and a pair of chopsticks and began to gobble down the steaming contents, as did Kouga. The others were a little less barbaric with their food and they all washed the ramen down with soda. Sesshoumaru was the only one not eating anything and conformed himself to stare in disgust.

"Yoohoo! Kagome! Yoohoo!"

Kagome swallowed what she was chewing and looked around for the source of the voice. She spotted her mother waving at her from the other side of the cafeteria. Mrs Higurashi pushed her way through the crowd of people standing around with their food, behind her trundled a morose Hakudoushi and Kanna. Shippou was jumping up and down on her shoulder. Kagome put down her cup of half finished ramen- which was soon picked up and eaten by Inuyasha- and ran to embrace her mother.

"Mama! Did you see me? Did I do well?" Kagome asked eagerly. Mrs Higurashi laughed and nodded, tapping Kagome on the nose.

"You did fantastic! I'm so proud of you honey!" Mrs Higurashi said, beaming. Sango sidled over to Kagome and greeted Mrs Higurashi formally.

"Konbanwa, Mrs Higurashi." Sango said, bowing her head slightly. Mrs Higurashi returned the greeting cheerfully and complimented Sango on her performance. Sango smiled but then her expression was replaced by a serious one.

"Mrs Higurashi, please forgive me for asking but, where is my brother Kohaku? I didn't see him come in with you." Sango said with anxious eyes. But Mrs Higurashi just smiled and waved a hand at her.

"Oh don't worry, he's running an errand for me. Such a helpful boy." She added thoughtfully. Sango raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"An errand? By himself? In the modern era?" Sango asked with sisterly concern. Mrs Higurashi laughed lightly.

"No, no! Of course not! I sent him with Souta and Grandpa. He's perfectly alright" Mrs Higurashi reassured her. Sango breathed a sigh of relief and at the same time felt a tad foolish for having worried so much when Kohaku was in such good hands. Clearly this new age was completely different from the feudal era.

A gong sounded somewhere and the crowds of people began to leave the cafeteria. Kagome stomach clenched and the soda taste in her mouth turned sour, the decision had been made and the winner had been chosen. She tried to get a grip of herself and began to march out, gesturing to the others to follow her. Inuyasha and Kouga reluctantly put their tenth helpings of ramen down and trudged along after Kagome.

The ballroom was once again filled with people and colourful dancers, the judges sat at their table and they looked as though they had made their final decision. Everyone rushed to get to their seats and Mr Tippytoes stood beside the judges table with the microphone in his hand, waiting patiently for silence to wash over the audience.

Kagome sat down and tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. She didn't mind not winning, but it would be nice to have a trophy sitting on the mantelpiece of her living room, since she didn't really have any. She could tell Inuyasha was feeling a little nervous too, because his leg was twitching at an alarming rate. Kagome heard Mr Tippytoes clear his throat and soon the audience quietened down.

"It'th now time to announthe the winning couple and the runner up… Mr Watanabe, if you may." Mr Tippytoes handed the microphone to feeble old man who shakily stood up holding in his hand the envelope with the final results. Mr Watanabe coughed a wheezy cough and brought the mike up to his mouth.

"The winner of 'International Dance Culture Week' is…." Rasped Mr Watanabe, and he fumbled with the envelope flap, pulling the card out slowly. Kagome couldn't bear the tension and she closed her eyes.

Mr Watanabe began to cough again, a more prolonged cough this time and the audience waited tolerantly for him to finish. But he didn't finish, the coughs racked through his weak old body and soon he made no sound at all, instead he opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish. He gave one squeak and toppled backwards onto the floor. Kagome opened her eyes and gasped. Many people of the audience stood up to catch a better glimpse of the scene.

"Oh my God, is he dead?" She asked anxiously but Inuyasha just shrugged. Kouga seemed to find the whole thing tremendously entertaining and was slapping his knees with glee. Mr Watanabe was carried out by two guards and given mouth to mouth outside of the ballroom. Another equally frail man picked up the mike and the envelope to carry on from where Mr Watanabe had left off.

"Ahem…now…the winner of this competition is…." he wheezed, squinting at the result card. His eyes suddenly popped and he began to clutch his chest, making gurgling sounds. Kagome gawped at him. _Oh Kami! He's having a heart attack!_

The old judge collapsed into his chair and about five minutes later he was carried out by paramedics and taken to hospital for heart surgery. Mr Tippytoes tried to hush the chattering audience by flapping his hands around, but somehow it didn't work. The microphone was picked up by the delicate old lady who had fainted during Naraku's performance. The audience became silent; the lady held the result card up to her short sighted eyes and cleared her throat feebly. The tension began to mount again and Kagome's hands became damp with perspiration. _Please please please…_

The old lady glanced at the dancer's section for a moment before reading out the names of the winning couple, and Naraku caught her eye. Naraku grinned and winked at her like he did the last time, thus causing the poor old women to swoon, hitting the floor in a dead faint. Kouga roared with laughter and congratulated Naraku for that one. The card and the microphone flew up into the air and were caught by Mr Tippytoes. There were no judges left.

"Oh thcrew everything, _I'm _going to announthe the winnerth! Never again shall I invite the oldetht judgeth in the world!" He muttered angrily and bringing the mike up to his lips he peered at the card, and smiling in delight as he read the names on it. He cleared his throat loudly, quietening the few chatterers left in the audience.

"It ith my abtholute pleasure in declaring the winning and runnerth up danthe couple." He paused dramatically.

"The winner of the 'International Danthe Culture Week' competition is…."

The end

A/N: HAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA! NOW YOU'LL NEVER KNOW! Just kidding around people, it's not the end. Sorry about that. Anyway, I have something I need you all to do for me. VOTE VOTE VOTE! It's all down to you, choose the winner and runners up! Will it be… (typical voting music starts)

Inuyasha and Kagome, and their fifties jive?

Miroku and Sango, and their red hot Salsa?

Kouga and Ayame, with their Irish dance?

Naraku and Kikyo, and their passionate Tango? Orrrrr….

Sesshoumaru and Kagura, with their elegant Waltz?

Choose your favourites now!


	26. Sweep Me off My Feet

Thanks to all you people who reviewed! I've never had so many! Sorry for the terrible wait, my computer went lost and most of my stuff was wiped off including my stories. I had partially updated this chapter as well so I had to start from scratch. So frustrating! Well, I had to recount all the votes just in case and though the results were very close indeed, I have finally got the winner as you will soon discover in the subsequent chapter. Have fun reading! And thanks for voting!

**Disclaimer: **Me? Own Inuyasha? You flatter me…but no.

**Chapter 26: Sweep Me off My Feet**

Kagome's heart beat like a drum in her chest, her fingers were crossed and her eyes had squeezed shut, lips whispering '_please, please, please!_'. Inuyasha glanced at her in concern, wondering if the suspense had affected her sanity.

Mr Tippytoes cleared his throat for the umpteenth time, looked over to the dancers with a huge smile on his face and announced,

"Sesshoumaru and Kagura!"

Silence.

The ballroom erupted with cheers and wild applause, mostly from all of those women Sesshoumaru had nearly drowned in back at the Yoru Hotel. Sesshoumaru himself remained impassive, masking the faint flicker of surprise that had somehow escaped over his expression. Other than that he looked as though he had been expecting to win. When Kagura heard her name being called out, her back had stiffened and her eyes had gone wide with astonishment. Quickly regaining composure, she'd taken a sneaky glance at Sesshoumaru's reaction and had almost grinned at the sight of his slightly open mouth before he too hid his surprise.

Mr Tippytoes beckoned to them both with his finger, and at the same time signalled for the trophy to be brought to him. Kagura and Sesshoumaru rose from their seats and as the applause rolled around them; they strode gracefully towards Mr Tippytoes, who was currently struggling with the immensely heavy prize.

Kagome breathed out a disappointed sigh. No wait, she was not meant to be disappointed, it was not the winning but the taking part that counted. Kagome forced a smile onto her face and began to clap along with the rest. Honestly, she had not been expecting Sesshoumaru and Kagura to win so it came as something of a shock when she heard their names. She'd gasped out loud and everything.

She felt a large amount of pressure on her hands and she snapped out of her elevated state, bringing her gaze to the clawed hand clutching hers. Inuyasha was glaring at her angrily.

"Don't applaud the bastard." He growled, then he let go of her hands roughly. Kagome sighed and placed her hands in her lap.

To say that Inuyasha felt pissed was a bit of an understatement, livid was more an appropriate term. He was certain he and Kagome were going to win first place, after all, he thought their fifties jive had been the best performance of the competition. There was only one thing that could have happened; somehow the old judges were threatened with disembowelment by Sesshoumaru, therefore they fixed the results and guaranteed a win for both him and Kagura. Inuyasha growled. How dare he.

Mr Tippytoes handed the large trophy to Kagura, who bent almost double under the weight, and kissed her on the cheek. He took a step closer to Sesshoumaru and spread out his arms to give him a big hug as congratulations. Mr Tippytoes froze when he heard screams from the dancers section, he glanced over to Kagome and her group and found them out of their seats waving their arms around and yelling at him to stop. Mr Tippytoes blinked at them in confusion and, arms still outstretched, turned his head slowly to look at Sesshoumaru who was currently giving him a glare that seemed to say; 'touch this and I will eliminate your little gay ass'. Mr Tippytoes hurriedly lowered his arms, opting for a smile and mumbling a quick 'well done' instead.

Sesshoumaru and Kagura were led out of the ballroom and towards the reception area to have their pictures taken. _Oh damn, I forgot to explain what a camera's exact function was_, thought Kagome anxiously. Mr Tippytoes coughed loudly and the audience fell silent. With a grin on his face, he licked his lips and readied himself to announce the runners up.

"The runner up couple is…" He paused to let the suspense grow but then somebody threw a pair of used panties at him and told him to get on with it. Mr Tippytoes picked the panties off his head with his thumb and forefinger and tossed them to one side and cleared his throat. He spread his arms and beamed.

"Inuyasha and Kagome!"

The audience cheered and applauded, Kagome shot up from her seat, jumped up and down and squealed loudly. Inuyasha just sat ogling at Mr Tippytoes and at Kagome gone crazy. Kagome kept screaming and jumping and tried shaking Inuyasha out of his daze. Inuyasha seemed to be in shock because his body functions refused cooperate, so let himself be pulled abruptly to his feet. Kagome hauled Inuyasha along the dance floor since his legs had become slightly limp. When they finally reached the spot where Mr Tippytoes was standing, Kagome received – with difficulty- the smaller version of the trophy with one hand and struggled to hold Inuyasha upright with the other. Mr Tippytoes attempted to place the small envelope (containing entries to the spa) in Kagome's already occupied hands and failed since Kagome had become concentrated solely on preventing Inuyasha from falling onto the floor. Mr Tippytoes sighed in desperation.

"That'th it, I'll fix thith!" He said determinedly and he slapped Inuyasha hard. Inuyasha's head turned forcefully from the impact and he blinked.

"Ow."

Inuyasha rubbed the pulsing mark on his cheek with a stunned expression on his face. He stared at Mr Tippytoes, the trophy in Kagome's arms and the entries to the spa that were in Mr Tippytoes' hand. The hanyou's eyes widened.

"We win somethin'?"

Kagome's head slumped down onto her chest as a sign of renounce. She sighed deeply. Mr Tippytoes giggled and flapped the spa entries about before handing them to Inuyasha, who in turn received them, cautiously bringing the little slips of paper up to his nose and sniffing them suspiciously. Satisfied that they were neither threatening nor indeed edible, Inuyasha allowed himself be led by Kagome to get his picture taken for the local newspaper. Kagome elbowed her way through the crowd of photographers that had for some reason all gathered in that particular spot.

Pushing through, an acrid smell of burning plastic seared up her nostrils and she noticed Inuyasha gag and cover his nose with his sleeve. The man who had meant to have been taking pictures of Sesshoumaru and Kagura was currently cowering under the demon lord's piercing glare, holding what seemed to be the steaming, almost liquid remains of his camera. Sesshoumaru himself looked as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened but a barely noticeable glimmer of anger resided in his eyes. Kagura was standing at a distance, holding a hand over her nose. Kagome closed her gaping mouth and hoped Inuyasha would do the same.

"…Wh-what…h-happened?" She stammered. Sesshoumaru spoke calmly but without taking his eyes off the hyperventilating camera man.

"He attempted to blind Kagura and me using that strange contraption. I merely used my poison to destroy it. Now if you'll excuse me…I will kill him." He raised his arm and began flexing his claws. Kagome threw herself in front of the poor man and held her arms out by her sides.

"No! He's only taking your picture!"

Sesshoumaru's eyebrow lifted into a perfect arch. "My what?"

"Your picture! It's an image of a present situation that is taken using…" Kagome looked around wildly, grabbed a camera from an unsuspecting photographer and held it in front of Sesshoumaru's face.

"…This! The image is then put on special paper to be kept as a memento also known as a 'photograph', please Sesshoumaru, the guy's just doing his job, don't kill him!" Kagome pleaded.

Sesshoumaru contemplated the idea of his glorious person being kept on paper as a permanent reminder of his power. He slowly lowered his arm.

"So you're saying, a 'photograph' is, in essence, the capture of a moment, which is then conserved on paper, therefore freezing the instant in question and preserving it for significant purposes?" Sesshoumaru enquired curiously. Kagome eyebrows rose of their own accord and she heard a loud '_huh_!' from Inuyasha's part. Kagome scratched the back of her head.

"Well…yeah...yeah that's about right. You're a fast learner." She added.

Sesshoumaru stared at her as though it were completely obvious. "I know." He said coolly, holding his head a little higher.

He returned to Kagura's side and stood as elegant as royalty, this time ready for photo taking. Kagome ran a hand through her hair and then turned to help the trembling photographer behind her recover from his state of shock.

"H-he m-melted m-my c-camera!" He stammered, the hands holding the now hardened blob of camera, shaking with fear. Kagome tried to convince him otherwise, trick of the light, she told him, just your imagination etc. Inuyasha huffed and strode towards Kagome, the camera man spotted him coming and let out a little scream.

"There comes another one! I am doomed! DOOOOOMED!" he cried in terror, dropping the camera and hiding behind Kagome. Inuyasha growled menacingly causing the man to whimper in fear.

"There's only one way to deal with baka's like these." Inuyasha said in his gruff voice. He raised his fist above Kagome's head. "Kagome…on the count of three, you duck."

Kagome's eyes widened. "What? NO, Inuyasha! No violence!"

"One…"

"I mean it Inuyasha; you're not hurting this man!" Kagome warned. The said man sobbed into her back.

"Two…"

"Stop it! We're not in feudal Japan! Quit behaving like a caveman!" She shouted.

"Three!" Inuyasha brought his fist down giving Kagome no other option but to duck so as not to receive the full force of the blow, and she let out a little shriek as she bent down. The photographer found himself lacking protection and looking up he received a face full of knuckle. Kagome straightened and caught sight of the now unconscious photographer lying on the ground and Inuyasha standing above him with a smug grin plastered on his face.

"Inuyasha you idiot! That was uncalled for! He did nothing wrong!" She screamed. Inuyasha scowled and was preparing himself to throw a juicy insult her way when the sound of groaning reached his ears. The man on the floor stirred and struggled to sit up. He rubbed his sore head.

"Ooooow…What happened? Where am I?" he mumbled. Inuyasha faced Kagome with a grin.

"See? Doesn't remember a thing!"

Kagome opened her mouth to answer but then closed it again when Miroku's voice floated out from the ballroom entrance.

"Congratulations Kagome-sama! I had a feeling you were going to win!" He said happily.

"Um, actually Miroku, Sesshoumaru and Kagura won, Inuyasha and I are runners up." Kagome informed him. Miroku continued to smile.

"Same thing." He said, maintaining his cheerful expression..

Kagome giggled. She soon spotted Sango, Kouga, Ayame, Kikyo, Naraku and the everyone else who had been present at the competition, pour into the reception area. Mr Tippytoes had just informed that a special after party was being held in the ballroom and to have everything properly organised they would all have to wait in the reception area for about half an hour.

Kagome didn't need to look at Kouga to tell he was pissed at not winning and Naraku was currently glaring daggers…no wait…_bazookas _at Sesshoumaru and Kagura. Kouga stomped towards Inuyasha with the intent of exchanging a couple of non-congratulatory words. Kagome quietly edged out of harms way. Better to be safe than sorry.

"Yoohooo! Kagomeeeeeeeee!"

Kagome was spun round and her face covered with motherly kisses. When Mrs Higurashi finally let go, Kagome wiped her cheeks vigorously with the sleeve of her cardigan.

"Mum! There are people around!" Kagome whispered hoarsely, her cheeks tinged with pink. Mrs Higurashi just stood there, smiling proudly at her eldest. Shippou was sleeping in her arms and making cute little noises, he was exhausted from all the cheering and bouncing up and down. Hakudoushi and Kanna on the other hand, looked ready for homicide and it seemed Kohaku hadn't got back from his errand with Mr Higurashi and Souta.

Mrs Higurashi checked the time and then took a fleeting look at the small trophy in Kagome's hands. She smiled at her daughter.

"Well, Kagome, I think I'll be off now. I need to put these little ones to bed," Mrs Higurashi ignored Kanna and Hakudoushi's protests, "I should take that trophy with me, that way you won't have to carry it all over the place."

"Thanks mum. You ought to take Sesshoumaru's trophy too, it might get stolen or something." Kagome said. Mrs Higurashi nodded. She gave Kagome a warm hug.

"Behave yourself, okay?"

"Okay mum. Oh yeah, before I forget…Inuyasha!" Kagome called. The shouting between wolf and dog was put on hold as Inuyasha turned.

"What?"

Kagome held out her hand, "I need those spa entries."

Inuyasha fumbled through his pockets for a few minutes before he found them and handed them to Kagome. Then he turned back to face Kouga so that he could renew his 'discussion'.

"So, what did you just call me?" Inuyasha growled.

Kagome gave the little, white envelope to her mother. "You have them mum, I can always soak in the hot springs back in the feudal era, but you…you're super and there's never time for you to relax. I want you to take a friend and enjoy yourself at that spa, you really deserve it."

Mrs Higurashi's eyes shone with tears. She smiled broadly and then leaned over to kiss Kagome's cheek.

"Thank you Kagome." She whispered. Kagome handed her little globe shaped prize over and after picking up Sesshoumaru and Kagura's extremely heavy trophy off the floor, Mrs Higurashi signalled to Kanna and Hakudoushi to follow her and she lost herself in the crowd. Kagome smiled to herself.

"Don't drink too much, sweetie!" came Mrs Higurashi's voice above the general noise of the crowd. Her daughter sighed.

The sound of Inuyasha's raspy voice mingled with that of Kouga's could be heard, their tones more than just a bit aggressive. Naraku had his eyes slit and looked determined to win the staring contest he was currently having with Kagura.

Kagome glanced down at her watch and wished the minute hand would move just a teeny bit faster so that she could put this situation in her past.

Oo

It seemed that Kagome got her wish, Mr Tippytoes' voice boomed around the reception area informing everyone that entry into the ballroom was now permitted. Kagome pulled Inuyasha and Kouga apart before they killed each other and dragged the both of them by the ears into the ballroom. The others followed and tried not to get lost in the crowd.

The ballroom looked completely different. It was lit by strobe and laser lights, there were streamers strategically thrown all around the room, six or seven tables placed end to end forming one single extended serving area for refreshments, a bar had somehow appeared in one corner of the ballroom and various bartenders stood behind it setting clean glasses on the bar top. The DJ had his own elevated stand above the crowd, it was an impressive sight, had the DJ not been so geeky looking and badly dressed. He wore a baseball cap placed sideways on his head, a t-shirt that was waaaay too big for him and equally sized baggy pants. His glasses were so thick it looked like he had a pair of binoculars on the end of his nose and the music he was playing sounded crappy but so loud that everyone could feel the rhythm in their bodies like a second heartbeat. Well, at least there was a bar full of alcoholic drinks.

The room was full of colour; most of the people in it were the dancers who were still wearing their outfits from the competition. Kagome felt a little foolish with the bow in her hair and the cardigan, not to mention standing right next to the bad boy from the fifties. Inuyasha's eyes were screwed up because of what to us humans is music but to him seemed like a bear demon being whacked with a dying cat demon on a stormy day in the middle of the ocean. Sesshoumaru was also feeling the same way, and so were many people in the crowd. Soon everyone was shouting and booing and throwing things at the poor, nerdy DJ, until one empty beer bottle knocked him out and he fell down from the stand.

A guard picked the poor geek up from the ground and threw him effortlessly across his shoulders and proceeded to carry him out of the ballroom. The bad music still thumped away and Mr Tippytoes, who had been chatting up one of the male dancers, began to chew his bottom lip anxiously because there was no DJ to cover for the first one. He gestured with his hand at one of the guards posted at the entrance of the ballroom. The guard left his post and strode across the strobe lit dance floor towards Mr Tippytoes.

"Yes?"

"I need you to find me a DJ!" Mr Tippytoes said desperately wringing his hands. The guard blinked stupidly.

"Huh? Where?"

"I don't know! Jutht find me one! And fatht!" the gay man told him, flapping his hands about anxiously. The guard nodded and began to scan the crowd for a potential DJ.

Oo

Inuyasha spotted, both Miroku and Sesshoumaru (surprisingly) standing in the same little area near the bar. Sango and Kagura had gone to look for Kagome in order to ask her where the bathroom was and had left the guys in the same spot. Miroku could feel those creepy glowing eyes boring into the side of his head. He'd tried to make light conversation but it proved impossible due to the terribly loud music, plus he was a little scared of Sesshoumaru.

"Whatever, Kikyo, you do what you want; I'm not going to stop you!" Naraku shouted as the priestess floated through the crowd and towards the bar. Naraku shook his head.

"Jeez, what a whiner." He mumbled to himself. He caught sight of Inuyasha, Miroku and Sesshoumaru. "Well, well, well, looks like you're all enjoying yourselves." He said, and their bored expressions stared back at him. Inuyasha stepped forward and cleared his throat. He gave them all mysterious looks.

"So…you all still got those bags with you?"

Oo

Taking advantage of Inuyasha's absence (and ignoring Ayame completely), Kouga yelled above the crappy beat, "So, Kagome…"

Kagome shook her head and cupped her ear, "What?"

"I SAID…SO, KAGOME!" Kouga bellowed. Kagome gave him the thumbs up sign.

"THIS IS MUSIC, HUH?"

Kagome nodded. She scanned the crowd at the same time to look for Inuyasha, who had seemed to have disappeared.

"WHERE IS THE MUSIC COMING FROM?" Kouga shouted. Kagome pointed to the stand where the geeky DJ had once been. Kouga peered up at it.

"OH. WHERE'S THE GUY THAT WAS UP THERE BEFORE?"

Kagome nodded. She cupped a hand around her mouth, "YOU MEAN THE DJ?"

Kouga blinked at her in confusion. He leaned closer. "HUH?"

Kagome took a deep breath, "YOU MEAN THE DJ?"

Kouga frowned and tried to decipher what she had just said, the loud music wasn't helping.

"ME THE DJ?" he asked, at the top of his voice. Suddenly he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder; Kouga twirled around and found himself face to face with a well built guard in uniform. The guard stared at him closely.

"You're a DJ? Come with me please!" he shouted, pulling the confused wolf demon along as he marched towards the music stand. Kagome and Ayame exchanged baffled looks but neither did anything to help. Kagome turned to the red head.

"So, Ayame…"

Ayame cupped an ear with her hand. "WHAT?"

Kagome sighed, and waved a hand dismissively. "NOTHING!"

Oo

Kouga was pushed into the small stand and he gawped at all of the electrical equipment. He turned to face the guard and opened his mouth to protest but instead got a mouthful of t-shirt. Kouga stared at the clothes that had been thrown to him and recognised them; they belonged to the geek that had been there previously. Kouga's eyes widened and he gulped, he looked up at the guard standing right in front of him.

"What are you lookin' at? You're the DJ, start DJ-ing!" the guard told him.

"I-uh, I don't really-"

The guard let out a loud belch and he patted his belly. He glanced up at Kouga. "'Scuse me!" he said, grinning apologetically. Kouga nodded once and quickly pulled on the oversized t-shirt and pants on top of his Irish dancer outfit. _Whatever I do, _he thought, _I must NOT screw up or this guy might eat me. I think that's what happened to the skinny dude. Man, Kagome's time is weird. _

The guard left as soon as Kouga leaned over to pick up the headphones. Of course, the wolf demon hadn't the faintest idea of what he was holding in his hands. He turned them over and inspected the padded earpieces and fingered the cable hanging from them. He sniffed at the headphones cautiously and then slowly brought them up to his ear. He jumped in surprise; there was sound coming from the inside!

"Holy Moly!" Kouga cried. He dropped the headphones and backed away from them bit by bit until he bumped into the DJ deck. He spun around to face it and squinted, buttons, switches and small flashy light bulbs blinked back up at him, he saw various rotating disks that were being held down by strange needles and stacks of thin cases where presumably, more disks were stored.

Kouga grabbed at his hair desperately. What to do? He leaned over the music decks and peered down at the people below standing around on the dance floor, some clutching drinks, others staring up and shaking their fists, complaining about the bad, bad music. They were beginning to get just a _little_ hostile. Kouga straightened up and took a couple of calming breaths. He turned around gazed down at the immobile set of headphones lying on the floor. He edged closer to them and crouched; he poked them once with a clawed finger and waited for any sort of reaction. Satisfied they wouldn't try to attack him; Kouga lifted them off the floor and carefully placed them on his head and over his ears, so that he could hear the sounds coming out of them better. He shuddered involuntarily; he'd never done anything like that before.

Kouga turned to watch the one of the revolving black disks on the deck. He scratched his head. He inclined himself and with a finger he gently prodded the circular object. The bad music stopped for a second and then continued, Kouga's eyebrows shot up. He went to the stack of narrow cases and picked one out at random. He peered inside and found another black disk; he pulled it out and held it up for inspection. _Hmmmm…_

He returned to the spinning disk and lifted the needle off it cautiously and he picked up the disk from under it with great care. He could hear relieved murmurings from the crowds of people below and he heaved a sigh. He threw the disk containing the bad music into a corner and placed the new disk under the needle. It started to rotate and Kouga flicked a random switch, causing a light bulb to flicker on. Sound began to flow from the speakers, fortunately for the wolf demon, that disk contained modern hip hop, the people below cheered and some were seen dragging their partners out onto the dance floor.

Kouga wiped off the beads of sweat that had gathered above his brow and breathed in shakily. He grinned, if only Inuyasha could see him now, Kouga the wolf demon, figuring out how to work all this by himself. Kagome would be proud.

Oo

Kagome gazed up at the music stand as soon as the song started playing. In the semidarkness, it was a little difficult to see who was up there, but she could plainly make out a long black ponytail and a glimmer of a white fang. Kagome groaned, yes, it was Kouga. She glanced at Ayame who was peering up in the direction of the music stand.

"Hey! What's he doing up there?" She asked in annoyance. "He's always finding ways of escaping from me!" she said angrily, placing her hands on her hips.

"Shall we get some drinks?" Kagome suggested. Ayame shrugged, and then nodded.

"Good, let's go."

The two girls weaved their way through the crowd in order to find the bar, Kagome forever glanced around in an attempt to spot Inuyasha but she failed upon reaching her destination. She signalled to the bartender. The young man appeared and set down the dish cloth he was holding.

"Yes? What will you be having?" He asked with a smile. Kagome smiled back.

"Uh… just two cokes please. Diet." She replied. The bartender disappeared under the counter and came back up clutching two cold cans of the drink. He placed them on the deep blue surface along with two clean glasses. He opened the cans and poured both of them simultaneously into each glass. Ayame's jaw dropped open. The bartender got rid of the cans and pushed the glasses of coke towards the girls.

"Anything else?"

Kagome shook her head and reached for her glass, nudging Ayame to do the same. They both left the bar and proceeded to search for a suitable place to drink their coke.

"Kagome! Hey, Kagome!"

Kagome swallowed her mouthful of coke and looked up in the direction of the voice. She could vaguely see Sango's sequinned dress. Sango waved at her and gestured to Kagura and Kikyo. Kikyo was the only one holding a drink in her hand. Kagome waved back at Sango and at the same time wondered why they lacked the company of their dancing partners.

"Hey, Sango," Kagome smiled, "Why are you all here?" she asked curiously.

Sango leaned in to whisper, "We need the ladies' room." Sango straightened and stared at Kagome with pleading eyes. Kagome giggled.

"Okay, I'll take you. I know, let's just all go, we won't get lost that way." Kagome said. Sango smiled gratefully and nodded.

Huddled together in a tight group, the girls zig zagged their way to the bathroom, Kagome took care not to spill her coke and _still_ kept an eye out for the un-appearing Inuyasha.

Thankfully there was no queue for the ladies' room, Kagome, Kagura and Ayame hung around the mirror fixing themselves up a bit, while Sango attended her call of nature. Kikyo poured the rest of her drink down the toilet and flushed it because she didn't like the taste. After a couple of minutes, Sango left her cubicle and went to wash her hands. Shaking off the excess water she smiled to Kagome.

"Okay, all done."

Kagome downed the rest of her coke in one large gulp and left the glass on the imitation marble surface.

"Let's go then! The guys must be around here somewhere." She said, plucking a hair off her pale cardigan.

The girls exited the bathroom and pushed past a group of girls that had gathered in front of them. Demon eyes as well as human searched for a few missing guys, but even with Kagura and Ayame's well developed sense of sight, it proved difficult to find them amongst the seas of people washing over the dance floor. Kagome fidgeted with the sleeve of her cardigan, _where has that baka escaped to?_

Her eyes wandered upwards to the music stand. _Maybe Kouga can see them from up there. _Kouga was wearing a baseball cap and was jerking his head in time to the beat, holding the headphones up to one ear and with his free hand, increasing the bass and flicking a few switches. Kagome grinned to herself.

She began to walk towards the stand but stopped dead when she saw Inuyasha appear at Kouga's side and tap him on the shoulder. Kouga turned to face him.

_Oh no, please don't tell me their going to start brawling. _Kagome prayed. She watched Inuyasha tell Kouga something, in a non aggressive way amazingly, and Kouga nodded. The wolf demon pulled a disk out of the stack and showed it to the hanyou, who peered at it for a moment and nodded, tapping the cover with his clawed finger. Kouga pulled the disk from the cover and set it down somewhere on the deck, Inuyasha patted him on the back and told him something else; Kouga waved a hand dismissively at him and continued to concentrate on what he had been doing. Kagome felt more than a little confused. Not only that, she had never seen Inuyasha treat Kouga that civilly before or vice versa. She blinked her eyes a few times to make sure she hadn't imagined the whole thing, and when she focused on the music stand again, Inuyasha was no longer there.

"You're right Kagura, they're not here." Sango sighed. Kagura tapped Kagome lightly on the shoulder.

"They must have bailed. Or found other partners. If I ever find them…" Kagura said in an ominous tone. Kagome dragged her eyes away from the music stand and gazed at each of those in her company. Kikyo was staring at the ceiling absently and bobbing up and down a few inches off the floor. Kagura looked as though she were capable of Sesshoumaru's murder if she ever found him. Ayame looked oddly happy. _Maybe Diet Coke's not meant for wolves_, Kagome thought. Sango had an expression similar to that of Kagura's.

"So, Kagome…?" Sango asked, seemingly attempting to control herself. If it were up to her, she would search the building, find the cursed houshi and beat him in front of all the girls he was probably flirting with.

Kagome stayed silent, and then slowly crossed her arms over her chest. She stared back up at the music stand and narrowed her eyes.

"What _are_ they up to?"

Oo

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I've had so much to do. Plus, I have a broken finger from that blasted volleyball. Damn the P.E teacher, I shall have his blood. Thanks for all the reviews! There's about one chapter left for this story to end. Or two. I dunno. Whatever. Please R and R! Kyuuketsuki-san, thankful.


	27. Time to Get Down

Finally got round to updating. I'm so glad you guys haven't given up on me (probably because if you had, you won't be alive right now: bares fangs:).

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters of Inuyasha. (shoots self).

**Chapter 27: Time to Get Down**

Kagome was deep in thought when all the lights went out. A few people screamed but the majority of sound that filled the room was that of mumblings and anxious whispers.

A spotlight appeared from nowhere and pinpointed its target somewhere in the midst of the crowd. The target seemed to be on the move. Then it stopped and the room fell silent.

"Kouga! Play the damn music already!"

Kagome frowned. She knew that raspy voice anywhere. "…Inuyasha?"

Just then, a loud blast of music blew from the speakers, a type of hip-hop beat that was good enough to dance to. Inuyasha burst out from the crowds and stood in a clear space of the dance floor. The people lingering around there gradually stepped back to give him more room as it seemed as though he were to do something.

Kagome jumped up and down to try and catch a glimpse of the hanyou but it proved difficult because nearly everyone in that room was taller than her. She frowned and began to push her way through.

She elbowed past a group of screaming girls, "Excuse me, pardon me, sorry, let me through…"

She eventually reached the empty area of floor and stopped dead. Her jaw hung open.

"Inu…yasha?"

Inuyasha whipped round and faced her. He gave her a smile that sent many girls to the floor. He was still wearing his bandanna but the rest of his outfit was different. He wore a white torso hugging t-shirt, baggy red cargo pants and white sneakers streaked with red. At that moment Kagome forgot how to breathe. As the music pounded on, Inuyasha began to move his head along with the beat, and suddenly he was on the ground.

Kagome's eyes widened. _When and where did he learn to break dance? _

Ooo

The girls pushed through the crowd to find Kagome. Sango reached her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Kagome, are you alright?"

Kagome shook her head slowly, eyes still wide. Sango stared into the centre of the circle and almost did a double take at the sight of Inuyasha spinning on his back, bouncing to his feet and crouching down again, using his hands as stands and swinging his legs around, lifting each hand as he turned so that his legs could pass underneath. Cheers erupted all around the ballroom and Sango was finding it very hard to maintain Kagome in an upright and conscious position. Kagome's mind was racing, was this Inuyasha or had he been replaced by some cool and totally hip impostor?

Inuyasha came up once more and then disappeared into the crowd, leaving the dance area free.

Sango glanced at her friend anxiously, "Are you going to be okay?"

Kagome seemed distant but she nodded. "Yes." She replied breathlessly. Sango gave her an encouraging pat on the back. Kagome took a few deep breaths and then noticed the spot light was moving again. She tapped Sango on the shoulder.

Sango turned, "Hm?" Kagome pointed at the centre of the circle. Confused, Sango moved to look and almost landed flat on her face with shock. Miroku had stridden into the empty dance area and he was wearing a dark purple shirt with the collar undone and baggy blue jeans. He commenced doing some nifty footwork that got everyone 'ooh'ing and 'ah'ing and Sango swooning and blushing. Kagome grinned at her friend.

Miroku flipped onto his hands and performed a wicked head spin and that did it for Sango, Kagome soon found herself supporting a very limp demon slayer. Miroku continued with his sweet moves and then he flashed a cheeky grin before disappearing.

Kagome attempted to revive Sango and was still trying by the time Kagura, Ayame and Kikyo arrived.

Kagura took one look at the unconscious Sango Kagome was holding up, and smirked,

"So, the taijiya has died of boredom already?" she looked around with an indifferent expression on her face. "Can't say I blame her."

Kagome opened her mouth to retort but Sango beat her to it, "Shut up Kagura, I'm fine." She mumbled, trying to steady herself on her own two feet. She caught Kagome grinning at her and narrowed her eyes, "What?"

Kagome wagged a finger at her, "Seeing Miroku look and dance like that was too much for you, wasn't it?"

Sango's face coloured up. "No! It's nothing like that! I was just…tired."

Kagome rolled her eyes, "U-huh, yeah."

"No, really!"

"Yes, I totally believe you Sango." Kagome said, barely suppressing a giggle. She fought to keep a straight face. "So, um…what are you going to do now?"

Sango's expression darkened, "I'm going to find that lech and send him to an early grave."

"What? Why? He didn't do anything this time apart from break dance!"

Sango appeared to think about it. She took a while to reply. "Yeah, well he was going behind my back about it. I'm going to find him right now!" And with that she was off, elbowing through the crowd. Kagura stared after her laughing lightly, and then turned to face Kagome.

"You keep very entertaining company, I could stand here all day watching-oh kami someone kill me now." She groaned. Kagome gave her a puzzled look before wheeling round and noticing the spotlight moving again and the person basking in it's brightness was none other than…Kagura's creator. Cheers erupted from many women present in the dance room, much to Naraku's delight and Kagura's horror. He wore a dark grey hooded jacket, a black t-shirt underneath and dark purple pants. He circled the area completely by means of the moonwalk and once he reached the middle he began to move his body like a snake, rippling to the left and to the right.

Kagura moaned and covered her face with both hands. _Why me? Whyyyyyyyy? _

Kikyo bobbed up and down, trying to get a better look. She glanced at Kagura and smirked. "Oh look, they're throwing undergarments at him again."

Kagura's head snapped up and her eyes popped. "What? That's it! I'm outta here!" And she was off like a flash, just when Naraku was doing a professional looking aerial cartwheel. Even though Kagome knew he was one of her most hated enemies, she was rather impressed with his moves. But she secretly considered Inuyasha the best dancer of them all, regardless of what anyone said or did to prove otherwise.

Naraku whirled round once and then vanished in a sea of humans leaving the spotlight for someone else. Kagome had already guessed who but she wasn't sure whether he would actually appear. Would this be too beneath someone like him? She was proved wrong. The crowd parted and out came Sesshoumaru, but not the way the others had, who had merely stepped into the circle. No, when Sesshoumaru did something, it was accomplished in style. He performed three perfectly executed back flips and landed smack in the exact centre of the circle, his feat was greatly applauded and Kagome could barely hear herself think what with all the cheering and screaming. He was wearing a black turtle neck sweater, cream coloured baggy pants and black running shoes and this attire was greatly approved by his fangirls.

"So…what'd I miss?"

Kagome spun round and found Kagura standing right behind her and she seemed to look a little breathless. Kagome grinned. _Did she run all the way back here? And she says she's not interested in him._

"No, nothing much, just Sesshoumaru doing his thing."

Sesshoumaru flipped onto his hands and holding himself up with only one, he made the Nike sign with his legs. Kagome glanced at Kagura and almost laughed at what she saw. It was the first time she had ever seen the wind sorceress so…stunned.

Sesshoumaru performed another back flip on the spot, turned around, strolled casually into the crowd and disappeared. Seeing that they had finished, Kouga fiddled with some other disks and played another tune, 'Tempted to Touch' by Rupee.

The crowd dispersed itself around the dance floor now that everything was back to normal. Kagome decided to try and find Inuyasha, but it couldn't have been more difficult and she found herself cursing her own weak human eyesight. Kagura, Kikyo and Ayame chose to stick to her, wherever Inuyasha was they were sure to find the others. Kagome spotted a small crowd in one corner and made a beeline for it, certain she had found the missing hanyou. She was mistaken; it was just Kouga and Ayame's dance teacher Sean with a drink in his hand and a red face. He seemed to be entertaining the people around him with his jokes and they weren't that bad. Not bad at all. In fact, when Kagome attempted to gain his attention, no one was able to hear her; such was the blast of laughter erupting from the crowd at the punch line. Kagome rose up to her tiptoes so that she could see better.

"Okay, okay," choked Sean, tears swimming down his face. "So here's what happened to me ol' friend Patrick right, he sees a feller about to throw himself of a buildin' right…an' he sez, he sez "Don't jump!" to the chap on the ledge. "Think of your wife and children!". Okay, so the feller here tells 'im,

"I've got no wife or children." Right, an' so, Patrick thinks a while, then he sez,

"Then think of your parents!"

An' the poor feller sez, "I don't have any parents." Okay, so then, then ol' Pat has another try and tells him,

"Then think of St Patrick!"

An' the feller looks all confused, right, an' he sez,"Who's St Patrick?" An' that's it for Patrick and he gives the guy a look an' sez,

"Jump, ya bastard." An' he walks off!" Sean fell about guffawing and Kagome found herself crying with laughter. She gasped for air and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her pale yellow cardigan. Sean started to leave for another drink but not before Kagome caught up with him to ask if he'd seen any of the guys.

"No m'dear, I haven't."

Kagome sighed, Sean patted her on the back sympathetically and walked off.

"Hey! Kagome!"

Kagome whirled around and came face to face with Sango and a sheepish Miroku sporting an angry red mark on his left cheek. Kagome almost cried with relief.

"Sango! Where _were_ you?" Kagome said. Kagura, Kikyo and Ayame reached them, not one happy expression on any of their faces.

"Looking for this lech." Sango said nodding her head at Miroku. Miroku sighed. Kagome rushed to Miroku's side.

"Miroku-sama, do you know where the others are?"

Miroku jerked a thumb in their direction and Kagome was off like a bullet, dragging along with her the poor monk, who in turn latched his free hand onto Sango's arm and pulled her beside him, despite her protests. Kagura, Kikyo and Ayame followed them impatiently.

Ooo

Inuyasha was at the bar with his brother and with Naraku, tasting what the barman had called 'Smirnoff'. He took one gulp of the drink and choked, spraying a few people with droplets of the liquid. He spluttered and coughed and Naraku thumped him on the back to help clear the hanyou's windpipe. Inuyasha gasped for air and then slumped over the bar, panting.

"Thanks, man."

Naraku patted him on the back and then turned to his drink. "No problem."

"INUYASHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Inuyasha cringed and under the bandanna he was wearing, he pressed his ears to his head. He stood up from his stool and turned around slowly to face Kagome.

Kagome glared at Inuyasha and stepped a little closer to him. All Inuyasha thought was 'osuwari'.

"Inuyashaaa…" she repeated, letting go of Miroku's arm allowing the monk to quietly back away for safety. Inuyasha gulped. All of a sudden she had thrown herself upon him, her arms around his neck in a backbreaking hug. "That was AMAZING!" She cried. Inuyasha blushed furiously.

"Kagomeee…people are staring!" he hissed. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and Naraku was making gagging sounds. Miroku on the other hand was wearing a rather cheesy grin, much to Sango's discomfort. Kagome jumped back with an apologetic smile on her face and a nice tinge of pink on her cheeks. "Sorry."

"Baka." Muttered Inuyasha under his breath.

Naraku turned to the bar and took another swig of his beer. Kagome noticed this and pointed a finger at him. "Hey! You shouldn't be drinking!"

Naraku blinked at her. "Why not?"

Kagome lowered her arm and scratched her head. "Well, because…um…" she pictured a drunk and very comical Naraku stumbling around in her mind's eye. She shrugged. "Fine, drink as much as you like."

Naraku grinned and raised his beer. "That's what I'm talking about."

Kagome faced Inuyasha. "Now, can you please tell me how on earth you guys learnt to dance like that?"

Inuyasha shrugged and gave a noncommittal jerk of the head. Sesshoumaru stepped forward.

"Basically, my baka brother wanted to prove himself to you and to everyone else so he believed that learning one of the most complicated styles of dance would somehow make it possible."

Inuyasha growled. "Shut up."

Sesshoumaru continued. "Consequently, the imbecile decided to speak with his dance teacher 'Annie' in the hopes of receiving advice concerning the performance and the suitable attires. Furthermore, he deemed it an excellent idea for us to join him in this ridiculous display of idiocy." He finished flatly.

Inuyasha hung his head and sighed. He lifted his arm half-heartedly and pointed a finger at Sesshoumaru. "What he said."

Kagome blinked. "So why did you participate?" She asked Sesshoumaru curiously. The demon lord shrugged.

"Did you think there was anything better to do?" he replied. Kagome raised her eyebrows slightly. She faced Inuyasha again with a warm smile on her face.

"Well, I think you were brilliant."

Inuyasha raised his head and stared at her. He turned away with a blush. "Keh!"

Kagome shook her head and continued to smile. She suddenly remembered something. "So those packages…?"

Sesshoumaru cut her off, "Clothes."

"Oh."

Kagome sighed. "I wonder how Kouga's doing?" she wondered out loud. Everyone's attention was focused on the said demon.

Way up in the DJ stand Kouga decided to switch disks and placed one with modern techno with full bass. Kouga bopped his head along with the beat and held up the earphones with one hand while DJ'ing with the other. People started cheering and heading out onto the dance floor in groups. Ayame stared up at Kouga and sighed.

"None of this would have been possible without my Kouga." She smiled. "He's the best of them all."

All of the gang stared at her. She blushed. "What?"

Naraku set down his empty beer bottle and stood up from his stool and stepping forward he placed a hand on Sesshoumaru's shoulder. "So, why don't we all head out onto the dance floor and have fun, eh?"

Every one looked at him warily and Kagome piped up, "With you? Is that safe?"

"Why of course." Naraku smiled and after a murderous glare from Sesshoumaru, he quickly removed his hand from the dog demon's shoulder.

Kagome fidgeted. "I don't know."

Naraku shrugged. "Whatever."

"Hey Naraku!"

Everyone turned to look. A group of women were waving to Naraku, beckoning him over. "Wanna dance with us?" one of them was gesturing to him with a black, lacy bra. Naraku turned to the gang grinning and waggling his eyebrows. He looked back at the women. "Be right over!" he said and he shot up his arm to wave back at them.

THWACK!

Sesshoumaru staggered backwards holding his poor nose and then he bent forward slightly, placing one hand on his knee and with the other attempted to stop the blood flow. Naraku cringed.

"Oops."

He was out of there faster than a blink of an eye. Kagome neared herself to Sesshoumaru cautiously, "Uh…" but Inuyasha grabbed her arm. Sesshoumaru's eyes were blood red and Inuyasha wasn't about to risk his life or anyone else's trying to help.

"Run." He whispered. Kagome looked at him in confusion.

"Run!" He repeated. Kagome shot a fleeting glance at Sesshoumaru and then followed Inuyasha to the dance floor hurriedly. Miroku, Sango, Kikyo and Ayame scurried off after them leaving only Kagura and Sesshoumaru behind.

Sesshoumaru lowered his hand from his face and stared at the blood dripping down from it. _Damn that filthy bastard. I shall have his head. _ His eyes were positively glowing like burning embers but from his bent position they were barely visible.

The barman who was cleaning the counter took one look at him and took a step back in surprise.

"Whoa…are you bleeding?"

Sesshoumaru blinked and his eyes reverted to their cold amber selves. He slowly straightened and turned around to face the barman. He lifted a hand to his bloody nose, which continued to bleed freely. The barman whipped out a clean, white handkerchief and held it out to Sesshoumaru who eyed it suspiciously.

"It's clean, don't worry." Said the guy cheerfully. Sesshoumaru stepped forward and received it. He carefully wiped his face until every drop of his blood was cleaned off and finally he covered his nose with it until the blood flow ceased. Satisfied that his nose would no longer need any more attention, he tossed the bloody handkerchief across the counter and the barman picked it up and threw it away. Sesshoumaru sat himself down on a stool stayed there awhile, dreaming up a way of giving Naraku his just desserts. He distinctly heard a clinking of glass and found a drink had been placed in front of him. He glanced up and saw the barman smiling at him.

"Here, have a double. It looks like you need it."

Sesshoumaru growled under his breath. He was in need of nothing. However he surprised himself by closing his fingers around the glass and lifting it to his lips. The taste was unlike anything he had ever experienced before, and he found himself taking another sip. The barman nodded approvingly and turned around to mix some more drinks.

As Sesshoumaru set the glass down, he sensed a demon nearing the bar. Kagura sat down upon a vacant stool and placed her hands on the counter. Out of the corner of his eye, Sesshoumaru watched her drum her fingers somewhat impatiently on the counter top. He sipped at his drink.

The barman turned round and spotted her. He smiled, "What will you be having?"

Kagura glanced at Sesshoumaru's drink. "Whatever he's having." She said, jerking her head in Sesshoumaru's direction.

"A double whisky?"

Kagura had no idea what that was but what was the point of living if you didn't let in a little adventure to spice it up?

"Triple it."

The barman grinned and turned around to fill out the order. Sesshoumaru raised the glass up to his lips to hide the slight smirk and he sipped at his whisky to prevent any comment slipping out.

Kagura was passed her drink and she sniffed at it tentatively. Then she downed it all in one gulp causing Sesshoumaru's eyebrows to rise considerably. He watched the wind demoness ask for another.

The techno music still raged on and Naraku seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, he was jumping up and down wildly and the women around him were pressing themselves to him and occasionally handing him beers none of which lasted more than a few minutes in his hands since he either drank up quickly or spilt the alcoholic drink all over the place at the rate he was moving.

Inuyasha and Kagome were nearby, along with Miroku and Sango, bouncing up and down happily. Inuyasha had a huge grin on his face and Kagome had never seen him happier. She peeked over at Sango, who was having a great time even if Miroku was doing all he could to glance down the top of her salsa dress. Kikyo was floating around them gloomily thinking about death and betrayal, occasionally shooting glares at Inuyasha and muttering darkly. Ayame was at the foot of the DJ stand with a hand over her heart in the hopes of being able to hear Kouga's proclamation of everlasting love for her over the microphone.

Sesshoumaru glared at them all. He really didn't understand this era. Kagura noticed him staring at the sea of bobbing heads and arms upon the dance floor. She swallowed some more whisky.

"Humans are so weird." She said. Sesshoumaru merely nodded and gulped down the rest of his drink.

"I'll be right back girls! Just gonna get another of these!" Yelled Naraku over his shoulder, waving an empty beer bottle around. He elbowed through the crowd and stumbled over to the bar. He leaned on to the counter. The barman acknowledged him.

"Yes?"

Naraku set the beer bottle down before him. "Another one of these, if you may."

The barman nodded and went to fetch one. Naraku burped and turned his head to stare at Sesshoumaru with unfocused eyes. He grinned and neared himself to the dog demon.

"Hey Sessh, sorry about before…it was an accident." He slurred. Sesshoumaru wrinkled up his nose in disgust.

"Do not call me 'Sessh'." He said icily.

Naraku shrugged and hiccupped. "Sesshou, then."

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. Naraku banged the countertop with his hand impatiently. "Oi! Where's that drink?" he yelled. The barman hurried over and placed a beer in front of Naraku.

Naraku gulped down half the contents before setting it down again. He turned to Sesshoumaru and thumped him on the back. "No hard feelings, eh?"

Sesshoumaru lifted his head to stare at the evil hanyou. He smiled humourlessly. "None at all." He replied succinctly and whacked Naraku on the back so hard that the black haired demon lost his balance and crashed to the floor with a shriek.

All the way in the centre of the dance floor, Inuyasha's ears perked up at the sound of Naraku's voice and he squinted towards the bar. Kagome stopped jumping around.

"Inuyasha? What is it?" she asked. Inuyasha caught sight of Naraku's sprawled out form on the ground and he grinned. Pointing, he yelled at the top of his lungs,

"PILE UP!"

He raced towards the bar and threw himself savagely on top of Naraku.

"AIIIIIIIIIII!" Screamed the black haired demon. But his screams were soon muffled as Miroku and heaps more people piled up on top of him. Kagome went to get a closer look and burst out laughing when she spotted Naraku's legs kicking around under the mass of bodies.

"I can't breathe!" Naraku gasped, but no one was able to hear him over the techno music. Laughing and shaking their heads, one by one everyone began to lift themselves off the considerably large pile.

Sesshoumaru had observed the entire scene with relish and a smirk on his face.

"Good one." Said Kagura. Sesshoumaru turned to look at her. She stared into the distance. "Wish I'd thought of that." She said thoughtfully. She finished her drink and signalled for the barman to bring her another. Sesshoumaru gave an amused 'humph' and ran a claw around his empty glass.

"Are you certain you're able to hold that much alcohol, wind sorceress?"

Kagura shot him a glare. "Is that you implying that I cannot?"

Sesshoumaru shrugged lightly. "Perhaps." he replied. Kagura leaned closer to him and pointed a finger.

"I'll have you know, that I can take just as much alcohol as I like and still walk in a straight line with no problem at all." She hissed. Sesshoumaru's lip quirked upwards, revealing a fang. He inclined his head and whispered in her ear.

"Prove it."

A gasp caught itself in her throat at the feel of his warm breath tickling her hair but she maintained her indifferent expression as he pulled back. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Is that a challenge?"

Sesshoumaru smirked. "Why of course." He lifted his gaze to meet hers and they both signalled for the barman.

Ooo

Inuyasha had moved to the middle of the dance floor amidst the crowds of people and continued to dance to the techno. Naraku had returned to his place among the group of women but was forever throwing around frightened glances in case anyone tried to jump him.

Kikyo hovered around rather forlornly; she was extremely bored and fed up. She moved to a corner and remained there, sighing heavily. She then felt a light tap on the shoulder and she turned her head.

"Hey, you wanna dance or something?"

The guy asking was a complete Goth, but Kikyo didn't know that. He had short black hair black clothes; practically everything about him was black apart from his chalk white complexion. Kikyo straightened her tango dress and followed the goth to the dance floor.

_I have finally found a similar soul, tormented and lost like me. Together we shall seek revenge on those who have betrayed us and enter the fiery pits of hell from whence we came to serve out an eternity of pain and suffering. _

Yeah, Kikyo…whatever you say.

Ooo

A/N: For those of you unfamiliar with break dance moves, and aerial cartwheel is basically a cartwheel but with no hands. Like the name really _aerial_ cartwheel.

I also dedicate the song 'Tempted to Touch' to the lovable lech Miroku, if you pay attention to the lyrics you'll know what I mean. .

I was going to end the fanfic with this chapter but I've still got quite a bit left over. So I'm sticking it in the next and last chappie. I'm not sure if I should include and epilogue, what do you guys think? Thanks for sticking with me and sending me your comments! This Kyuuketsuki loves yez all! Now review me or I'll send my Kyuuketsuki bats after you. They hungry. (bats nod)


	28. And That's the Way it Goes

**Chapter 28: And That's the Way it Goes **

Inuyasha bounced happily to the loud techno music, along with Kagome. He was having one hell of a good time and even the loud music didn't bother his ears as much as before. As he jumped around he glanced at Kagome and seeing her enjoying herself by his side made him feel all strangely squishy inside, he hadn't seen her smile so much in his company and it felt extremely gratifying to know she was having fun.

The coloured strobe lights then changed and soon the ballroom was showered with bright, timed flashes. Confusion arose in Inuyasha, as he found himself watching Kagome move in sequence. Kagome squealed happily however, and began jumping around more energetically to the music. Inuyasha stood his ground and rubbed his eyes, looking up again and around the ballroom. Everyone was moving like that!

"Huh?"

He tried to wave his own hand in front of his face but he could only see it progress in a slow, series of movements. He shook his hand frantically.

"What the fuck is going on?" he shrieked. Kagome ceased to dance and stared at him questioningly.

"Are you okay, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha wheeled around to face her. "No!" he cried. "My eyes have gone all funny!"

He grabbed his hair and pulled at it desperately. Kagome glanced around at the flashing lights and at Inuyasha who looked extremely comical clutching at his hair. The lights made him appear like a crazy robot.

Finally the lights were replaced once again by the coloured strobe ones. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief and tapped Inuyasha's shoulder lightly, which proved difficult due to the way he was tossing this way and that, hands full of his own hair.

"Uh…Inuyasha? It's alright now."

"Nooooo!...I've gone bliiiiiiiind!...Eh?" he glanced up. Seeing the flashy lights were indeed gone he straightened up and untangled his claws from his silvery mane.

"Oh."

OooOooOoo

The barman lined up the sixth round of shots for both Kagura and Sesshoumaru. The two demons narrowed their slightly hazy eyes at each other. Kagura hiccupped lightly and made a grab for the shot, lifting it up to her lips.

"Are you going to give up yet, Sesshoumaru?" She sneered, gazing at him, her eyes unfocused. Sesshoumaru smirked and downed his shot in one burning gulp.

"This Sesshoumaru never gives up."

Kagura gave a little laugh and swallowed her shot, slammed it down on the counter and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. She glanced at Sesshoumaru and suddenly saw him double. She blinked rapidly and shook her head; she was determined to beat the great Lord of the Western Lands even if it was at something as insignificant as a drinking competition. She reached out blindly for the next shot, trying hard to make it look as though she were in complete control of all her limbs, when in fact she was close to toppling off the stool on which she was currently sitting.

Sesshoumaru watched her as her fingers brushed past the small glass and then fumble around clumsily before grabbing a hold of it. He smirked and with almost excessive ease, he leaned over and delicately lifted his shot from the counter and brought it to his lips, holding it completely steady. Although his vision was a little blurred, the rest of his senses were his guide, very handy in situations where he would find himself unable to see, be it by cause of poison spray or dense smoke.

Kagura cursed herself for being an offspring of Naraku. Having been born from filth, she would always be an inferior demon, despite being a full one. She threw back her head and gulped down the burning liquid. Putting the shot down, she wobbled slightly on her stool and she quickly placed a hand on the counter to steady herself. Sesshoumaru set his now empty glass on the bar and reached for another. He glanced at Kagura.

"Are you going to give up yet, Kagura?" He smirked, repeating her own question and using her name for the first time.

Kagura looked up and stared at the two Sesshoumarus bobbing in front of her. She blinked and they merged into one. She grinned, remembering his words from earlier on.

"This Kagura never gives up."

She raised a shot to her lips.

OooOooOooOoo

Naraku continued to dance around but this time, a little more cautiously than before, occasionally throwing glances around in case any one else tried to jump him. To calm his nerves, he turned to the only thing that would help him. Beer. After a few bottles of the stuff, he was feeling better…much better.

Naraku jumped up and down for a few minutes more, but stopped as he began to feel a little dizzy. He stumbled and his hands flew out to his sides to try and gain balance. Once he'd steadied himself he lifted his gaze and to his surprise he found his vision had blurred and merely blinking it away proved useless and shaking his head vigorously even more so, since it seemed to aggravate the pounding sensation in his temple. He held his hand up to his forehead and rubbed it.

"Ooooh…"

OooOooOooOoo

Kagome's feet were aching and so was every limb in her body. She looked down at her watch and with a jolt; she found it was past one in the morning. It was time to leave.

She tapped Inuyasha (who was still dancing like there was no tomorrow) on the shoulder and gesturing for him to come closer. The blaring music made it difficult to talk, so she leaned up to his ear.

"It's time to go!" she yelled, tapping her watch.

Inuyasha nodded. "Let's go find the others!" He shouted back.

Kagome followed him through the crowd until she heard a distinct voice yell out "HENTAI!" and a loud slap that rang out just above the music. Kagome grinned and pushed through the masses of people with Inuyasha until she reached Sango who was clearly fuming. Miroku was looking extremely sheepish and raised his hand to place it over his red cheek.

Kagome explained that it was time to leave so Sango and Miroku both volunteered to search for the others. Kagome turned to Inuyasha but to her surprise she found he wasn't there. Puzzled, she attempted to look for him, wondering where on earth he could have gotten to.

"Inuyasha!" she called out above the music. She took a deep breath and cupped her hands around her mouth. "INUYASHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She screamed.

"HEY!" yelled a gruff voice.

Kagome whipped around and spotted Inuyasha behind her with his hands over his ears and his eyes screwed shut. Kagome covered her mouth with a hand.

"Oops, sorry!"

Inuyasha removed his hands from his ears and wiggled the little white triangles around. Kagome began to giggle but stopped short when she noticed Kikyo floating beside Inuyasha, looking slightly sulky.

Kagome cleared her throat lightly. "So…I see you found Kikyo then."

Kikyo scoffed and crossed her arms. Inuyasha sniggered. "Keh! I found her trying to persuade some guy in black to go to hell with her. You shoulda seen the guy run!"

Kagome's eyes widened as she looked from Inuyasha to Kikyo. "Really?" she asked, her gaze fixed upon the priestess.

Kikyo shrugged.

Kagome struggled to keep her laughter in and with much effort she asked the both of them to follow her.

"Inuyasha," she began, once she had successfully bottled her amusement up, "Do you think you could sniff your brother out? I mean, who knows where he could be?"

Inuyasha stared at her incredulously. "What? Find his scent here! Are you nuts? There are like a bajillion smells in this freakin' place!"

Kagome sighed. She'd just have to do this the old fashioned, human way. She stomped off in search of Sesshoumaru and whoever was with him, and Kagome had an inkling as to who.

OooOooOooOoo

Sango and Miroku looked at each other apprehensively and then at the black haired hanyou who, by the way, was having some difficulty standing on his own two feet. Miroku was the one to take the initiative. He stepped forward.

"Erm…Naraku?" he asked awkwardly. Naraku stared at him stupidly. Miroku swallowed.

"We…have…to…go...now." He said slowly, hoping the alcohol hadn't greatly affected the demon's ability to process information. After a wobbling around on the spot, Naraku's confused expression changed and a broad grin appeared on his face.

"Okey dokey!" he cried, flinging his arms out and hugging the poor monk until nearly all the life was squeezed out of him. After abruptly letting go, Naraku happily skipped off and Sango decided quickly that it would be best to follow him, seeing that he was capable of causing more damage than the lecherous monk would. Miroku lay sprawled on the floor where Naraku had dropped him and was gulping in lungful after lungful of precious oxygen. After a couple of minutes he slowly got up, ignoring the pain in his ribs and proceeded to search for Sango.

OooOooOooOoo

Upon arriving at the bar, Kagome almost passed out with shock at the scene before her. The barman was placing yet another row of shots on the counter and Kagura and Sesshoumaru gulped down the burning liquid at an even pace. Their talking was limited now since the shots were appearing more readily than before, and disappearing just as much in addition to that. The barman had a broad grin on his face; he had been receiving a large amount of wagers for this. He had personally bet on the woman.

Kagome spun round to face Inuyasha. "Do something! Stop this!" she shrieked.

Inuyasha snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "I ain't gonna do squat. If it means I'll be short of one brother then…"

Kagome cried out in exasperation. Why did everything have to go wrong _now_?

The slamming of a glass brought her attention back to the two demons sitting at the bar. Kagura was swaying more noticeably and her shoulders heaved with a belch. Sesshoumaru was looking no better but he seemed more in control than the female demon next to him. The both of them raised another shot to their lips and emptied the small glasses with no further ado. Kagura placed hers on the counter and blinked hard. She hiccupped and let out a groan before collapsing upon the smooth surface. She was finished. There were random cheers from the people that had gathered there to place their bets, not to mention groans from those who lost. Sesshoumaru set his own glass down calmly and smirked, ignoring his fading vision.

"I win."

And with that he slumped forward onto his arms, knocking one or two glasses over and remained immobile upon the counter. Kagome gasped and Inuyasha merely snorted.

"How are we going to get him to the hotel in that state?" Kagome shrieked. Things were not going well at all. Inuyasha simply shrugged.

"I say we leave him there." He grumbled. Kagome always had that particular habit of aiding anyone and everyone regardless of the fact that they didn't deserve any help at all. It was getting annoying. Kagome whipped round to face him and narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"You go and wake him. NOW." She hissed. Inuyasha swallowed hard and considered his options, he _could_ say no and probably be slammed into the floor so hard he would reach the seventh circle of hell or…say yes and live with the memory of having helped his brother in his time of need. Tough one.

Inuyasha breathed a heavy sigh. "Keh. Fine." he grumbled. As Kagome went to Kagura's aid, Inuyasha neared himself to Sesshoumaru with all the reluctance in the world. He not too lightly thumped Sesshoumaru on the back in order to rouse him. The demon let out a grunt.

"C'mon ya bastard. I know beauty sleep is important to ya but we gotta leave."

Sesshoumaru lifted his head slowly off his arms and turned to stare at the hanyou groggily. He narrowed his eyes. Inuyasha took one apprehensive step back. Sesshoumaru stood up from his stool with much effort and swayed on the spot leaving Inuyasha unsure of whether to help steady him or run for cover. As the hanyou hesitated Kagome's voice cut abruptly through the air.

"Inuyasha! What are you waiting for?" she said impatiently. She had Kagura's arm slung around her shoulders as she supported the demoness. Inuyasha turned back to his brother, who wobbled perilously on his feet. The hanyou inched closer and took a firm hold on the demon's right arm, placing it around his shoulders and thus supporting Sesshoumaru's weight. Inuyasha puffed…his brother was heavier than he looked.

Kikyo was just staring at her nails and throwing dirty looks at Kagome. She heard a scuffling sound behind her and she turned around to find Naraku being held up on both sides by Sango and Miroku, both of whom were looking absolutely exhausted. Kikyo couldn't help a spiteful smile flood her features.

Naraku hiccupped noisily. "I don't wanna go yet!" he wailed childishly. At the sound of his voice, Kagome with much difficulty turned to the source and she almost cried with frustration upon seeing the completely inebriated state of the dark haired hanyou.

Naraku was completely unaware of the utter exasperation he had caused in Kagome, instead he flicked Miroku's little ponytail and chuckled.

"Heh heh. Boing."

Miroku sighed heavily.

Meanwhile, with Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha was finding it quite hard to keep him under control.

"I hate you. You stink!" Sesshoumaru said abruptly, wrinkling his nose. Inuyasha raised his eyebrows along with everyone else.

"Yeah, well…ya don't exactly smell sweet to me either." Inuyasha countered.

Sesshoumaru frowned. "I smell very very very good." He slurred, and jerked his head in Kagura's direction, grinning. "Ask her, she'd know."

Catching the last part of his barely understandable sentence Kagura turned crimson and hiccupped indignantly. "An jus' wazzat s'posed ta mean?" she garbled, pointing a finger at the dog demon.

Sesshoumaru waggled his perfect eyebrows at her. "Whaddya think it means, witch?"

Kagura crimson complexion turned a shade darker and she hiccupped again.

Naraku suddenly shrieked with laughter, scaring the living daylights out of Sango and Miroku and almost causing them to lose their hold on him. Naraku gasped for air.

"Ooooooooh! Kagura lovesSesshnomanu…wait…Sneshumano…no wait…Sesssss…ah whatever." Finished Naraku, looking slightly confused.

"No I don't!" said Kagura quickly, leaning further into Kagome for support. Sesshoumaru was chuckling to himself giving Inuyasha cause to feel a more than a little unnerved.

Kagome groaned loudly. "Please, let's just get to the hotel!" and she began to lead the way.

Inuyasha walked behind Kagome and Naraku, Miroku and Sango followed, Kikyo was last, bobbing up and down sulkily. Kagome noticed that the music was coming to an end and many screams (mostly female) were echoing from the crowd. She slowly turned around so that Kagura wouldn't get too dizzy, and squinted. She spotted Kouga throwing himself from the DJ stand and being caught by a multitude of fan girls, while Ayame followed jealously attempting to find a way to get to him.

"Whoa, thanks girls! You can put me down here now!" Kouga yelled above the cheers. He was dropped to the ground just beside Kikyo. Ayame huffed towards him and scowled and as the crowd dissolved she took the opportunity to scold him.

Kagome shook her head lightly and started moving. Sesshoumaru stumbled along inelegantly, chuckling at anything and everything he found on the way, and that included Inuyasha's face. One look at the hanyou's irritated expression and he was off again, furthering Inuyasha's annoyance. What was worse, Naraku decided it would be fun to crash (along with Miroku and Sango) into the two brothers and sending them all to the floor in a tangle. Miroku and Sango painfully got to their feet and attempted to grab a hold of the uncontrollable Naraku. Sesshoumaru groaned and rubbed his elbow, it being what he had landed on but Inuyasha on the other hand, flew to his feet with an angry snarl. He reluctantly helped Sesshoumaru up who in turn growled drunkenly at Naraku.

"You find that funny, imbecile?"

Naraku wiped a tear from his eye and grinned evilly. "Very."

Sesshoumaru gave Naraku a push, making Miroku and Sango let go abruptly for fear of their own lives. Naraku glared at Sesshoumaru. "Don't push me." He said darkly.

"Oh?"

Sesshoumaru pushed him again, apparently entertained.

"Hey! Stopit!" Naraku cried, getting upset.

"Hmph, you wanna make something of it?" Sesshoumaru drawled, giving Naraku one last push. Naraku opened his mouth to retort but a strange gurgling sound left his belly. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. Naraku skin became tinged with green and he swayed dangerously on the spot. Kagome's eyes popped,

"Uh-oh…quick! Kikyo! Take him outside! He's gonna be sick!" She shrieked. Kikyo grudgingly grabbed a hold of Naraku's arm and dragged him out of the dance academy. Kagome wiped her moist forehead with the back of her hand and started walking.

OooOooOooOoo

The cool night air whipped across their faces and carried the sound of…Naraku's retching from the bushes.

"BLEEEURRRGH!_ Pantpant_ GAAAAAAACK!"

Sweat poured down Naraku's face as he threw up. Kikyo stood beside him and screwed up her nose in disgust as she patted him on the back.

Kagome waited patiently for him to empty his stomach of all its contents and when he finally straightened up, wiping his mouth on his sleeve shakily, she set off with the others in her wake to the Yoru Hotel.

When they arrived they climbed the stairs and went to their rooms, boys to one suite and girls to the other.

Inuyasha heaved Sesshoumaru along trying to ignore the raspberries the said demon was blowing in his ear. The hanyou reached the nearest bed and dumped his elder brother on it who fell asleep almost immediately and was soon lightly snoring.

Naraku stumbled into the room, still pale, and raced to the bathroom slamming the door behind him and proceeded to throw up violently into the toilet. Miroku was the next to enter and he threw himself into the luxurious bed, not even bothering to change out of his clothes. Kouga swaggered in soon afterwards and decided to head for the kitchenette for a snack…or breakfast seeing that it was now two in the morning.

Inuyasha jumped into bed and lay there staring at the ceiling. He heard the bathroom door open and caught the sound of a groan as Naraku stepped out clutching his stomach. The black haired hanyou trudged to his bed and collapsed upon it, soon falling into an uneasy sleep. Inuyasha closed his eyes and grunted as he turned to his side.

"Last one to go to bed turns all the lights off!" He called out from his pillow. He failed to see the glare Kouga was giving him as he left the kitchen, a packed of Doritos in his hand.

Kouga grumbled to himself as he went to switch the lights off before he too went to bed.

Soon, Sesshoumaru's heavy breathing became the only sound audible in the room and the only sound that irritated Inuyasha, who grabbed a pillow and flung it at Sesshoumaru's head. The hanyou smiled as a grunt made it clear that he had hit his target.

OooOooOooOoo

Meanwhile in the girls' room, Kagome was having a hard time getting an inebriated Kagura into bed.

"Why does that demon have to be so damn hot?" slurred Kagura as Kagome tried to push her onto a bed. Kagome was certain the demon being mentioned was Sesshoumaru.

"He thinks he's so clever…that arrogant bastard…" she muttered as she allowed Kagome to tuck her in. "…but I still like him…"she mumbled and added something rather incoherent before finally falling asleep. Kagome wiped the sweat from her brow and then threw herself into bed. The other girls were all asleep (apart from Kikyo who was hovering somewhere in the area of the bathroom) and the lights were still on. Kagome sighed and got up to switch them off. She lay down in her comfortable bed and fell into a deep slumber.

OooOooOooOoo

The next morning, everyone got changed into their normal attire, that is, their feudal era clothes (apart from Kagome), and waited for Kagome to call for a minibus to take them to the Higurashi shrine.

Sesshoumaru as usual hid behind his calm, cool, indifference while on the inside he nursed a painful throbbing in his temple and an inexplicable dryness in his throat. He absolutely refused to ask for water. Kagura felt no better than he did, and in addition to that, she had no recollection whatsoever of the previous night while Sesshoumaru on the other hand had it fresh in his mind. He felt utterly humiliated every time he thought back on his appalling and childish behaviour.

Naraku was feeling better though, but he looked a little apprehensive when he caught sight of the minibus as he followed everyone out of the Yoru Hotel. However, this time he was provided with a sick bag for the journey.

Kagome made sure everybody was in the minibus before getting into it herself. She stared at the Yoru Hotel for a minute and smiled softly.

"We had fun, didn't we Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha blinked at her for a moment and then shrugged. "Keh! If you say so."

Fun for him was watching his older brother fight the hangover he was currently experiencing and seeing his enemy Naraku bent over a sick bag. But Kagome was right. He _did_ enjoy himself that week, and he had also learnt new things, met new people and spent time with the ones he cared most about. Suddenly it occurred to him that it wasn't all about the competing or the winning, it was about being there and having a memorable time where friends were your friends and enemies weren't your enemies.

_And if it's with Kagome, then everything's gonna be okay._ He thought as the minibus' engine revved up and the Yoru Hotel, along with the Dance Academy disappeared from view.

THE END

A/N: Yes. It is done. I'm SO TERRIBLY SORRY for the million billion year wait, but I haven't had internet for almost two months and plus I caught a stomach virus that's going around so I've been in bed for a while. Don't worry ppl this isn't the END END just THE END. I still have an epilogue left to write. Please read and review!


	29. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Mrs Higurashi cried when she saw everyone off at the well. She gave out tearful advice to each and every one of them and wished them all luck.

When they had arrived at the Higurashi Shrine, she had been there to welcome them again into her home and graciously offered them breakfast, not that Naraku wanted any since he was still feeling slightly queasy from the bus trip. Mrs Higurashi had very kindly provided him with a herbal tea to settle his stomach.

Shippou had been there to greet them also, along with Kirara, Kohaku (much to Sango's relief), Kanna and Hakudoushi. The two incarnations had run to their creator and latched themselves onto his midsection earning an 'aww' from Kagome's mother. Kagura had merely snorted, completely aware that they were just trying to kiss up to him and get him on their side. After breakfast, Mrs Higurashi had presented them with brand new clothes, thinking they were going to stay a while longer. This had answered Sango's query on the whereabouts of her brother as she discovered he had merely accompanied Souta and Kagome's grandpa to a so called 'mall' in order to purchase clothes for everyone.

When Mrs Higurashi had learnt they weren't planning on staying any longer she reluctantly entered the house to keep the clothes in a safe place "Just in case you come back." She had said with a sniff. She'd mentioned to Kagome that both trophies were standing on the shelf in the living room, since Sesshoumaru simply refused to carry it around in the feudal era.

After the sad goodbyes Mrs Higurashi wiped her eyes on her apron and stood back. Everyone looked at Naraku expectantly. He raised his eyebrows.

"Er…what are you staring at?"

Sesshoumaru was the one to enlighten him. "You need to give us the shards in order to pass through the well. _Fool_." He muttered.

"Oh! Of course." Naraku rummaged through the many folds of his hakama until he plucked out the sparkling, almost fully formed orb. He handed out the shards and narrowed his eyes at everyone. "And I want them back…got it?" he threatened.

His answer was a rumble of muttering and grumbles from everyone else and a reluctant 'fine' from Inuyasha.

So with a sparkling shard in their palms, one by one they began leaping into the Bone Eaters Well and were enveloped by a bluish light before disappearing altogether to the feudal age. Kagome was the last to leave and just as she prepared to leap into the well she took a last look at her mother and blew her a kiss.

Mrs Higurashi wiped away a tear and sighed as her daughter vanished five hundred years into the past. She would miss them all, especially that charming young man Naraku. Personally, she hadn't the faintest idea why he was her daughter's mortal enemy, they all should just have a long talk to straighten out their differences and they would all be happy and get along. She began walking to the front door but paused halfway to look behind her. She smiled softly.

"They'll be back."

OooOooOooOoo **Three months later** OooOooOooOoo

"KAZE NO KIZUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

A powerful blast of energy ripped through the ground only to dissipate against Naraku's barrier which seemed to be growing ever stronger with the constant attacks.

"Inuyasha! Don't use that technique against him anymore! His barrier's consuming it!" yelled Kagome as she shot another sacred arrow at the enemy.

"Keh! You don't need to tell me! BAKURYUUHAAAAAAA!" Inuyasha roared, four potent cyclones bursting from the Tessaiga and hitting Naraku's barrier head on. Inuyasha shielded his face from the dust particles blowing his way. As the dirt clouds parted Inuyasha snarled, seeing Naraku alive and in one piece, laughing his head off.

"Hm, hm, hm…you really think that ancient technique will suffice?" he sneered.

Inuyasha's grip tightened on the Tessaiga. "Grrrraaarrr!" he yelled and he took off in Naraku's direction to see if a good slice from his sword would bring the demon down.

"Inuyasha! Don't be foolish!" Cried Miroku, as he fought off one of Naraku's many slimy tentacles. He couldn't use his Kazaana thanks to the presence of more than fifty poisonous insects and his scrolls didn't appear to have any effect on the limbs that were threatening to wrap around him. One disgusting arm found its way around his neck and began to squeeze, but thankfully Sango spotted it and destroyed it with one slash from her boomerang. Miroku fell to the ground coughing. He raised his head.

"Sango, you have saved my life …please do anything you wish of me." He breathed. Sango turned bright red as hundreds of images whizzed passed her mind's eye. She shook her head forcefully.

"It's fine Houshi-sama." She said firmly. Miroku nodded, feeling just the teeniest bit disappointed.

Inuyasha tore towards Naraku, his Tessaiga raised. He failed to see the smirk on Naraku's face but Kagome, on the other hand didn't miss it.

"Inuyashaaaa! Stop!" she screamed, throwing down her bow and arrow and darting in his direction. Shippou cried for her to come back but she ignored him.

Naraku spotted the young miko as she tried to catch up with Inuyasha and he scowled. _She will not ruin this plan_, he thought angrily and sent a flailing tentacle after her. She screamed as it wrapped itself tightly around her waist and she fought against it in vain when it lifted her clean off the ground.

"KAGOMEEEE!" Inuyasha yelled, skidding on the spot and lowering his sword. Naraku glowered at him, _Attack me damnit! Attack the barrier! _

Inuyasha sprinted to her and began wildly hacking at the thick wriggling tentacle but Naraku wasn't going to allow any of this, he raised the arm out of Inuyasha's reach and no matter how high the hanyou leapt Naraku was always one step ahead of him and pulled it away to the side. Inuyasha was beginning to feel frantic and Kagome was getting motion sickness but Naraku merely laughed in their faces. Miroku and Sango watched helplessly from the sidelines and Shippou wailed loudly, seeing his 'mother' being tossed around like a rag doll in the enemy's clutches.

Naraku laughed mercilessly at Inuyasha's frenzied attempts to free the young miko, even if his plan was being delayed for a moment it was still wholly satisfying to watch them struggle like butterflies in a net.

Kagome ceased her screaming and covered her mouth with her hand. She could feel her breakfast, as meagre as it was, surge up leaving a burning sensation in the back of her throat. _I'm gonna be sick! _She cried mentally.

But soon Naraku got bored of his little game and he threw Kagome to the ground roughly. Inuyasha gasped and was immediately at her side.

"Ooooh…" Kagome groaned, rubbing her backside, which was what had broken her fall, and covered her mouth again with her other hand. Inuyasha bent down to examine her for any serious injuries she may have sustained. Naraku was still laughing like a maniac, his tentacles waving around crazily.

"Kagome, are you okay?"

Kagome swallowed the acid that had risen up in her throat and placed a hand on her stomach. She slowly and shakily stood up, nodding her head. "Yes, I'm fine, though that was worse than any rollercoaster I've ever been on!".

"Moohoohahahaha-eh? Roller what?" asked Naraku curiously.

Kagome stared at him with her jaw hanging open almost to the ground. She glanced at Inuyasha for help but he also looked like he needed an explanation. She sighed. As Sango, Miroku and Shippou approached, she began clarifying the exact functions of a rollercoaster, theme parks, rides and the likes and her descriptions of each one were met by thoughtful nods and sounds of approval.

Naraku lowered his barrier and pulled the tentacles back into his body with a nasty squelching sound. He took a few steps closer to the inutachi.

"I would like to experience one of these 'roller coasters'." He said, rubbing his smooth chin with his hand. Kagome was quick to put him off the idea.

"No, no, no, you wouldn't like it! They go upside down, round and round, making you really sick and stuff. It'll be terrible." She explained hastily. Naraku though back on the trips inside the minibus three months before and couldn't help agreeing with her.

"Okay, so I can't ride one." He mumbled morosely. Kagome sighed with relief. However, Naraku's features brightened.

"But I still want to see one!"

This time both Inuyasha and Kagome groaned and slapped their foreheads. Inuyasha growled and turned to Kagome.

"If you hadn't mentioned the damn thing, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Well I can't do anything about it now, so let's deal with it!"

Miroku and Sango exchanged glances. Inuyasha neared his face to Kagome's and bared his fangs.

"_We_? _You_ screwed up, woman!"

"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I HELPEDYOU WHEN YOU SCREWED UP?" Kagome shrieked.

"I'M NOT TALKING 'BOUT ME! I'M TALKING 'BOUT WHAT YOU'VE GOTTEN US INTO!"

"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!"

"I'M NOT! IT'S YOU WHO'S GONE NUTS, WENCH!"

"OSUWARIIIIIIIII!" Kagome screamed. Inuyasha smashed headfirst into the ground and lay there motionless until the spell wore off. Naraku snorted with laughter but discontinued it when he felt the miko's burning glower threaten to set him aflame.

Kagome flounced off to grab her bow and arrow.

Inuyasha grunted as he lifted his face from the dirt. "So what are gonna do then!" he yelled, his voice slightly muffled.

Kagome glared at him and swung her arrows around her shoulder. "Isn't it obvious?"

She stomped towards him. Miroku and Sango stepped back cautiously.

"We're going back to my time!" she hissed.

OooOooOoo

A/N: woooooooooo! Okay, NOW it's finished. I know it was short but it was only necessary to wrap up a couple of things. Don't worry peeps, it doesn't end here! My new story will be up soon, 'Themepark Thrill' as a continuation or sequel, whatever. Oh and for those of you Sesshoumaru fans who don't mind seeing him paired up with an oc, check out my story 'Overcoming All Obstacles'. Thanks to EVERY ONE who reviewed, especially those who have been sending me their comments since the beginning. I love all of yas! Mwah! (author is surrounded by her vampire bats and vanishes into the night. Comes back), oops, forgot to say…Read and Review!


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